
Class. 
Book. 




PiLbtished, oy five Socvety for promoting chrls -turn Knowledge- 



A WEEK AT THE LIZAED. 



CHAPTER I. 

Character of the District. — Fertility of Hornblende Roch. — Lizard 
Lights. — Bumble. — Fishing with Fly. — Lions'* Den, — Househole Bay. 
— Fishing for Launces. — Pen Olver. — Belidden Amphitheatre. — Bass 
and Hot Points. — Lizard Cove* — Pilchard Fis/iery, — Landewednack 
Church and Cross. — Peculiar Customs. 

A deservedly famous writer on the pictur- 
esque, who towards the close of the last century 
made a tour of the West of England, in pursuit 
of his favourite study, after making a few re- 
marks on the first town in Cornwall which he 
visited, Launceston, completes his pictorial survey 
of the county with the following comprehensive 
paragraph : " From Launceston we travelled as 
far into Cornwall as Bodmin, through a coarse, 

B 



2 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

naked, country, and in all respects as uninterest- 
ing as can well be conceived. Of wood, in every 
shape, it was entirely destitute. Having heard 
that the country beyond Bodmin was exactly 
like what we had already passed, we resolved to 
travel no farther in Cornwall, and instead of 
visiting the Land's End, as we had intended, we 
took the road to Lescard, (Liskeard,) proposing to 
visit Plymouth in our return." There is no 
doubt that the author of " Forest Scenery" was 
right in the estimate which he formed of what 
he saw, for the whole of the country which he 
traversed, like many other parts of the county, 
is undeniably coarse and naked, and to a picto- 
rial eye, most uninteresting. Long barren moors, 
scantily clothed with rushes, cotton-grass, and 
stunted heath — heaps of rubbish from deserted 
mines, interspersed with pools of stagnant water 
— here and there a mine at work, but wanting, in 
those days, even the interest now afforded by the 
steam-engine — low stone walls, wearing no vege- 
tation but gray lichens and distorted furze-bushes 
— such objects offer no attraction to the eye, nor 



CHARACTER OF THE DISTRICT. 6 

occupation for the pencil of the painter ; so that 
if Gilpin was too much pressed for time, to be 
able to spend " A Week at the Lizard/' he was 
quite right to alter his route. 

In the present day, tourists who visit Cornwall 
in search of the picturesque usually travel by 
the road from Plymouth, through Liskeard to 
Bodmin. This route lies through a succession of 
valleys, which being sheltered from the sea 
breezes, are well wooded, and owing to the 
dampness of the climate, abound in various kinds 
of ferns, &c, of most luxuriant growth. Be- 
tween Bodmin and St. Austle, the traveller is 
interested in the china-clay works, through the 
midst of which the road passes, and, long after 
he has left the works, is not a little surprised to 
find himself following the course of a little river, 
the water of which having been employed in 
washing the clay, has acquired the hue and exact 
appearance of milk. It would be well worth his 
while to explore the woods at Tregothnan (which 
he leaves on his left) the seat of the Earl of 
Falmouth, situated on an arm of the sea, which 



4 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

being navigable as high up as the neat little town 
of Truro, expands at its mouth into the beautiful 
and commodious harbour of Falmouth ; but we 
will suppose these and many other interesting 
places in the neighbourhood passed by for the 
present, and that he is safely deposited at Hel- 
ston. This remarkably clean, and, on market 
days, remarkably busy little town, is situated at 
the root of the promontory which terminates in 
the Lizard, and on the west is distant from the 
sea a little more than two miles, being on the 
east three miles from an arm of the sea which 
terminates at a village called Gweek. A road 
from Falmouth passes through Gweek to the 
Lizard without touching Helston, and there is a 
yet shorter road, by crossing the river at Helford 
Ferry. * Whichever way the Lizard be approached, 
the road for the last few miles at least, is very much 
as Gilpin describes it, " coarse and naked." A 

* The whole district south of Helston is called Meneage, a name 
which those antiquarians, who maintain the oriental origin of many 
of the Cornish names, derive from a Persian word for " a low plant 
(heath) of which brooms are made.'" 



CHARACTER OF THE DISTRICT. 5 

tamarisk hedge here and there, and Cornish heath * 
everywhere, a few apple trees shaggy with lichens 
and struggling to be an orchard, will be novelties 
which will arrest the eye of the botanist, however 
rapid may be his progress ; while the geologist 
will turn aside to examine the quarries of dark 
veined stone which he occasionally encounters, or 
where the road is newly laid, he will stop to pick 
up specimens such as he has never seen before, 
except in the museums of the curious ; but the 
lover of the picturesque will in all likelihood be 
sorely disappointed ; he will have before him, for 
the greater part of his way, a long, weary road, 
skirted by commons or lined by treeless hedges, 
and on either side a flat tame country, with but 
rarely a distant peep at the sea, and no indication 
of a bold coast. A companion acquainted with 
the country, would tell him a barbarous tale 
connected with the tree of the district, called by 
way of distinction, " Cury great tree,"f and from 
one point in the road, would point out to him in 
the remote distance, the famed St. Michael's 

* Erica vagans. t See "Forest Trees of Britain," vol. i. p. 156. 



6 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

Mount, but these are scenes of but passing interest 
— there has been no long continuous ascent for 
many miles, and he is not aware that the ground 
which he is traversing, is in reality considerably 
elevated above the sea, and that its termination is 
on every side sudden, and abruptly grand. 

Tourists, and visitors from the neighbouring 
towns, generally confine their attention to two 
points of interest on the coast, Kynance Cove and 
the Lizard Lights, making their arrangements 
so as to be at the former place when the tide is 
lowest, and for the most part traversing the dis- 
tance between by a road across a flat and sin- 
gularly unattractive down. Kynance Cove un- 
doubtedly combines more objects of interest than 
any other part of the coast, and the light-house 
is an object of curiosity, as being the most south- 
erly structure in England ; so that the two will, 
I dare say, continue to attract visitors who have 
little time at their command, to the exclusion of 
many scarcely less remarkable spots ; but even 
these visitors would do well to deviate from the 
usual course of going from one to the other by 



LIZARD LIGHTS. 7 

the road, if such it may be called, and to perform 
the distance (about two miles) on foot, keeping 
as near as possible to the edge of the cliff. The 
ascents and descents are neither numerous nor 
difficult, and the views, in whichever direction 
the tourist may be going, are perpetually chang- 
ing, but always beautifully grand. 

Certainly, no less time than a week should be 
devoted to exploring all that is worthy of being 
seen in the neighbourhood. The reader must, 
therefore, suppose himself to have taken up his 
quarters at the inn, or one of the several cottages 
in the " Lizard-town," where lodgings are to be 
procured, prepared to sally forth every day on a 
fresh voyage of discovery. 

Being so near the light-houses — the beacon, 
which so many of his countrymen have either bid 
farewell to, or greeted, with that depth of feeling 
which those who are doomed to be exiled for 
years from their native land can alone experience — 
he will naturally be anxious to pay them an early 
visit. They are visible from the village, and are 
within a short distance of it, being approached 



5 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

either by a rude carriage-road or by a path run- 
ning along on the tops of the hedges or banks by 
which the fields are separated. Except in very 
stormy weather, the latter route is preferable for 
foot-passengers, the path being quite wide enough 
to allow persons to walk with safety, and, from 
its exposure to the sun and wind, it is generally 
dry. For the latter reason no trees grow here, 
and even shrubs are so rare, that one of these 
hedges, which has a few yards of its top fringed 
by stunted thorns, is called, contemptuously, 
Lizard Wood. The soil consists of decomposed 
hornblende rock, which is so fertile, that some 
land which was enclosed a few years since, was 
cropped with wheat and barley for several suc- 
cessive years, and bore abundantly without being 
manured. This productiveness, no doubt, is to 
be attributed in a measure to the mildness of a 
climate, where a few days' frost constitutes a 
severe winter, and snow is scarcely ever seen to 
lie on the ground ; but that it is not entirely so, 
is evident from the fact that the serpentine for- 
mation which bounds it is equally barren. The 



LIZARD LIGHTS. V 

decomposed rock is called marie, and being in 
many places of great depth, is carted away as 
manure for other less-favoured districts. In some 
fields this process has been continued for many 
years, and where this has been the case, one may 
walk on a hedge which is on one side twenty or 
thirty feet high, on the other eight or ten. Nor 
is it uncommon to see one part of a field with a 
level many feet lower than the rest, but both 
bearing a fine crop of wheat or barley. When 
the wind is high, the walking on these double 
hedges is attended with some danger, for whether 
it blows from the south, the east, or the west, it 
falls with that impetuosity which is rarely found 
to exist except when the wind has traversed an 
extensive plain ; and here the boundless sea is 
before, on the right and on the left. 

The light-houses consist of two lantern-headed 
towers, connected by a long range of apartments 
and offices, with a continuous passage, so con- 
structed that the light-keeper who is on duty 
may pass from one to the other without going 
from under cover. The whole building is ex- 



10 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



ternally coated with whitewash, to ensure dis- 
tinctness as a landmark by day, and kept scru- 
pulously clean both within and without. Each 
tower is ascended internally by a commodious 
staircase, and terminates in a lantern of plate- 
glass, set in iron. In the centre, an iron frame- 
work supports nineteen Argand lamps, arranged 
in two circular rows, and at the back of each 
lamp is a large concave reflector, made of copper 
thickly plated with polished silver. These are 
so placed, that in whatever part of the surround- 
ing sea a ship may be sailing, at least one of the 
lights is always visible. The distance at which 
they may be seen at night varies with the state 
of the atmosphere ; but as the ground on which 
the houses stand is at a considerable elevation 
above the sea, they must give ample warning of 
danger at hand, except when the weather is un- 
usually foggy. The two light-keepers alternately 
stay up the first and second half of the night to 
trim the lamps ; by day, their duty is to supply 
them with oil, and to polish the reflectors. It is 
not unusual for birds of passage to be attracted 



LIZARD LIGHTS. 11 

by the brilliancy of the light, and to dash with 
all their force against the glass, sometimes with 
such impetuosity as to be stunned or even killed 
by the blow. Outside the lantern runs a railed 
gallery, from which may be obtained a splendid 
view of the surrounding cliffs and sea. No one is 
allowed to remain here or on the inside after the 
lighting up, a regulation which, with great pro- 
priety, is strictly enforced, for even a temporary 
obscuration of the light might be fraught with dan- 
gerous consequences to any vessel in the offing. 

Prior to the use of oil lamps, large fires were 
kept constantly burning. It is stated that during 
the late war, through the negligence of the light- 
keeper whose turn it was to be on duty, the fire 
had, on one occasion, been allowed to sink so low 
as to be barely visible. It happened, that at 
the time a packet in the employ of government 
was sailing by, the captain of which roused the 
sleepy watchman by firing a cannon-ball at the 
dim light. No mischief was done, but the slum- 
berer was effectually reminded of his duty. 

Below the light-houses, the ground suddenly 



12 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

slopes away, and terminates in an abrupt though 
not lofty promontory. The turf here, as is the 
case in many other of the more exposed parts of 
the cliff, is remarkably stunted and short, though 
comprising several plants which, in favourable situ- 
ations, attain a considerable size. In summer it 
is soon dried up and becomes very slippery. 
The points of the rock which rise above the 
surface in this neighbourhood, are either mica, or 
talc, slate, distinguished by being composed of 
scales or spangles arranged in layers, or of horn- 
blende, a greenish-black lustrous mineral of crys- 
taline structure mixed with felspar. The natural 
appearance of the rock is, for the most part, con- 
cealed by a luxuriant growth of orange and yel- 
low lichen, but in the interstices the mineral is 
found to be singularly unaffected by atmospheric 
influences, in most instances presenting as fresh 
an appearance on the surface, as on the newly 
broken rock. This point, though it seems to jut 
out beyond any of the others, is not in reality 
the extreme southerly rock, which is situated a 
few hundred yards to the west, and will be 



LIZARD POINTS. 13 

noticed in its proper place. The little promontory 
of which I am now speaking terminates abruptly 
in a steep cliff, the base of which is continued 
into the sea in the form of rugged black rocks, 
which from the constant exposure to a strong 
tide and the lashing of the waves, are almost 
entirely free from sea-weeds. At their extremity 
rises a lofty columnar rock called the Bumble, of 
which the artist has given an accurate portrait in 
the accompanying woodcut. At low-water it is 
accessible from the land, but on the outside is 
never deserted by the sea. A few years since, a 
gentleman who w T as walking round the coast at- 
tempted to climb to the top of it. When about 
half-way up he became terrified, and lost all power 
either of proceeding or retreating, and would un- 
doubtedly have fallen, had not his perilous posi- 
tion been descried by a person on the cliff, who 
summoned to his aid from the light-house a young 
man who chanced to be working there. He, being 
a fearless climber, immediately ran to the spot, and 
by the help of ropes brought the adventurer down 
in safety from his perilous position, though not 



14 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




THE BDMBLE KOCK. 



without risking his own life in the enterprise. 
The gentleman gratefully rewarded his deliverer, 
by taking him into his service. 



THE BUMBLE. 15 

Looking to the east from the Bumble point, 
the tourist has before him an exceedingly beau- 
tiful little bay, about half a mile across, bounded 
on the opposite side by a rock-crowned head-land 
called Pen Olver. At certain times of the tide 
the current sweeps round this bay, and passes the 
base of the Bumble with extraordinary rapidity ; 
and here may often be seen in summer and au- 
tumn a lonely fisherman exercising his weary voca- 
tion, which is one requiring strength as well as 
skill. Sis implements consist of a long stout pole, 
and a few yards of strong cord attached to it. 
His line is furnished with a single hook, to which 
is attached a tuft of hair from a goat's beard, 
and which he is pleased to call a fly. Seen out 
of the water it resembles nothing in nature or 
art, and one might well apply the epithet silly 
to fish, for allowing themselves to be caught by 
so rude a device. On being immersed, however, 
the hairs separate, and as the fisher always keeps 
his fly in motion by drawing it quickly along 
near the surface of the water, it bears a close 
resemblance in shape, colour, and movement, 



16 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

to the little fish called a launce, which is abun- 
dant on the sandy parts of the coast. Large 
bass and pollack, weighing as much as twelve 
pounds, are unwise enough to be tempted by 
this mockery of a meal, and are a welcome prize 
to a man who fishes for a maintenance and not 
for sport. 

Turning to the left and proceeding in a south- 
easterly direction, we must, after a few minutes, 
advance warily, for we here fall in with a sin- 
gular geological phenomenon, which is well 
worthy of inspection, but dangerous if approach- 
ed without caution. The ground east of the 
light-houses slopes downwards to the edge of 
a cliff, about seventy or eighty feet high. Here, 
in the night of the 19th of February, 1847, 
a portion of turf of an irregularly elliptical 
shape subsided, without giving any previous 
warning, to a depth of forty feet, forming a 
pit of the same depth with precipitous sides, 
and having their upper edge lined by ragged 
turf. It does not appear that any noise accom- 
panied the fall of this mass, for the light-keeper 



lions' den. 17 

was entirely unconscious of what had occurred 
until the next morning, when he discovered the 
new formation, and observed that the sea was dis- 
coloured to the distance of nearly a mile. The 
floor of the pit was then level, and composed 
of loose stones and earth, and in this state it 
continued for some months. Its diameter was 
about fifty feet in the broadest part, and the 
outer edge twenty feet from the brink of the 
cliff. It had long been known that immediately 
underneath this spot a cave extended from the 
base of the cliff in the direction of the new 
land-slip, and it was inferred that the roof of 
this cave (the Daw's Hugo,* as it is called) 
had given way, owing perhaps to the decom- 
position of the rock of which it was composed, 
and that the earth above had followed it. The 
sea entering the cave at high water, had washed 
away the earth and loose stones, and hence 
proceeded the discoloration of the water. When 
I first visited the spot in June the occurrence 
was scarcely known except in the immediate 

* Hugo is Cornish for a cave. 

C 



18 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



neighbourhood, and then only so far noticed 
that some one had cut away the overhanging 
turf to prevent accidents and had carved in large 
letters on the sward : — 



'THIS IS LIONS' DEN. ,: 




No change had taken place except that the 
ground on the higher side was opening in cracks, 
shewing that it was inclined to extend landwards. 



lions' den. 19 

After the spring tides in the beginning of July 
I visited it again for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing its depth, which, I found, had increased, 
and the floor was no longer level, but shelved 
towards the sea. On letting down a plummet- 
line I found that the weight would not rest 
at a depth of sixty feet, and suspecting what 
had taken place, I descended the face of the 
cliff with the object of exploring the Daws' 
Hugo. The entrance to this cave, which can 
only be reached at low water, is about eight 
feet wide, and I should suppose about thirty 
feet high, divided half way up by a horizon- 
tal layer of rocks. As I approached I saw light 
streaming in from the extremity of the cave, 
which could only proceed from the bottom of 
the pit; a large quantity of rubbish was still 
left, but it was evident that this would in time 
be washed away, and that eventually the sea 
will enter the pit through the cave at high water, 
where in stormy weather it will bear no fan- 
ciful resemblance to a huge boiling caldron. 
If in course of time, as is very probable, the 



20 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



perpendicular walls shelve away, it will become 
funnel-shaped, and account for the formation 




Daw's Hugo. — Entrance to lions' Den. 



of another singular cavity at Cadgwith, which 
will be described hereafter. 



ENTRANCE TO LIONS' DEN. 21 

The rocks of the Lizard district are liable 
to be traversed by irregular veins, or lodes, as 
they are called, of a mineral softer than them- 
selves ; the serpentine by lodes of steatite, and 
the hornblende by decomposed veins of itself. 
When these crop out on the face of the cliff 
and are washed by the sea, the continued action 
of the water wastes away the softer particles, 
so that in time a cavity is formed at the base 
of the cliff, which increases in depth and height 
until either the bare surface of the hard rock 
is exposed, or if the roof be of the same sub- 
stance, in process of time the whole crumbles 
away, and the sea encroaches on the land. In 
the case of the Daws' Hugo it would seem 
that a vein of soft rock extended inwards from 
the foot of the cliff, overarched by a layer of 
harder rock. Farther in, the softer stone en- 
larged upwards, and not being of a compact 
structure, when its support was removed it fell 
in and formed the chasm described above, the 
archway of the stronger material remaining un- 
altered. It is not often that changes in the 



22 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

geological features of a district can thus be 
caught in the act of taking place ; hence the 
Lions' Den is an object of greater interest than 
if it had never been observed in any other state 
than it is at present, and if nothing were known 
about its formation. A very few years, pro- 
bably, will produce a great alteration in its ap- 
pearance ; the walls will lose their perpendi- 
cular character, at least on the land side, but 
how far the chasm will eventually extend must 
depend on the nature of the ground. 

East of the Lions' Den, the path winds round 
a much loftier cliff, and soon descends abruptly 
into a deep ravine, which runs down into a 
romantic little cove called Househole. The tour- 
ist may here either proceed a little inland and 
pass round the head of the valley, or descend 
by a scrambling path into the cove. The ra- 
vine itself appears to have been formed in great 
measure by a little stream which runs through 
it, having in the course of ages carried down 
the softer particles of soil, That it now ex- 
tends farther inland than it did only a few 



HOUSEHOLE BAY. 23 

years ago is evident from the fact that the old 
pathway which crossed it has lately become almost 
impassable, and a new one has been worn higher 
up. Househole Cove gives name to the little 
bay of which it is the extremity. It is shut ' in 
on either side by picturesque rocks, the eastern 
boundary of the bay, Pen Olver, being a par- 
ticularly striking object. The sand of which the 
beach consists, stretches out to a considerable 
distance, hence the water is in fine weather 
of a bright green hue, which in combination 
with the black rocks around, contrasts delight- 
fully with the circling waves which roll in here 
with peculiar grace, and lights up the spray 
with a more than usually dazzling whiteness. 
In the sunniest weather one may always find a 
shady corner. Every vessel that passes the 
Lizard is visible from hence, and gives anima- 
tion to the distant prospect, and as most of 
the fish which resort to the sandy parts of 
the coast are here abundant, the cormorant is 
an unfailing visitor. One low rock in parti- 
cular near Pen Olver generally has on it a 



24 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




THE RORMORAWT. 



conclave of twelve or more birds, solemnly di- 
gesting their last meal, or expanding their wings 



THE LAUNCE. 25 

to the sun ; while, in the water, a solitary head 
at intervals shoots up, jerks itself from side 



THE LAUKCE, 



to side, and immediately disappears. It is a 
charming place to idle away an hour. In the 
moonlight summer nights the beach is often en- 



26 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

livened by a party of men and women fishing 
for launces. 

The launce or sand-eel is a small cylindrical fish 
from six to twelve inches long, which by day swims 
about in shoals on the sandy coast, and by night 
burrows in the sand, keeping near the water line. 
It is used by fishermen as bait for larger fish, 
and by others is eaten either fresh or salted. 
The method of catching it is quite peculiar. 
As it begins to grow dark the fisherman, armed 
with a crooked iron instrument, which, with its 
handle, is about a foot in length, buries its point 
a few inches in the sand which has just been 
left by a receding wave, and draws it towards 
him with a quick motion, holding his left hand 
ready to catch whatever he may scrape up. 
When he feels any impediment he lifts his hook 
with a jerk, bringing up a lively fish, which 
if it be not immediately secured, by a few con- 
tortions of its body penetrates the sand and 
disappears ; or if it happen that the sand be 
covered by ever so shallow a coating of water, 
instantly turns its head towards the sea and shoots 



FISHING FOR LAUNCES. 27 

down to meet the coming wave with such rapidity 
as to resemble a waving line of silver. Some- 
times a Newfoundland dog accompanies the party, 
who with his paw T s fishes on his own account, 
never failing to seize his prize and to run off 
with it for security to a dry part of the beach. 
Moonlight nights are chosen for this occupation, 
as the fish are then betrayed by their silvery 
scales ; they are also most abundant at the lowest 
tides, which fall at a convenient time of the 
night, a few days after full-moon. Much amuse- 
ment is occasioned when a novice tries his hand, 
for simple though the operation is, it is much 
more laborious than it looks, and he either plies 
his hook with such force as to cut the fish in 
two, or suffers it to burrow again in the sand 
before he can secure it. 

Returning up the ravine, and following the 
path on the right, we soon arrive at Pen Olver, 
decidedly the finest headland on the eastern side 
of the Lizard. Its extremity is tipped by a pile 
of castellated rocks, to which a covering of shaggy 
grey lichen imparts an air of remote antiquity, 



BELIDDEN. 29 

the mass of stones so closely resembling an arti- 
ficial structure, that the mind naturally refers to 
the venerable covering as a test of the ancient 
date of its erection. It commands on the right 
a beautiful view of Househole Bay and the Li- 
zard Lights, with the boundless ocean beyond ; 
and on the left looks down on an almost inac- 
cessible cove, called Belidden, which runs up to 
the root of the headland, and is terminated by a 
precipitous cliff. The ground above this is hol- 
lowed out, forming a sloping amphitheatre, and 
is clothed down to the very verge of the cliff by 
smooth turf. Whether this form was produced 
naturally or artificially it is impossible to say ; 
but there are circumstances which favour the 
idea that, though nature may have left it nearly 
in the same condition in which it exists at pre- 
sent, yet the hand of man may have been em- 
ployed in completing its symmetrical character. 
A number of projecting ridges, at equal distances 
from each other, extend from one extremity of 
the amphitheatre to the other, and exactly of the 
height which would be most convenient to be 



80 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD, 

used, either as seats or standing-places, by a large 
concourse of people. But, it might well be asked, 
" For what purpose in the world is it likely that 
a large number of people should ever be congre- 
gated here ? What motive could induce five or six 
hundred people to sit down together in semicir- 
cles to look at the sea ? " An answer to this 
question must not be sought for among the cus- 
toms of modern times, but among the obscure 
records of the barbarous age, which preceded the 
introduction of Christianity into Britain. Either 
the Belidden amphitheatre is purely natural, or 
it must have been excavated to command a view 
of some religious rites performed by the Druids. 
And surely no worshippers of Nature, as the 
Druids confessedly were, could have selected a 
more appropriate spot for assembling their de- 
luded disciples. Seated on the earth, the emblem 
of their temporal condition, with the sea, the 
type of eternity, extended at their feet, — the 
priests, invested with such state as they could 
command, officiating on the altar of Pen Olver, 
— the ceremonies there performed could not fail 



BELIDDEN AMPHITHEATRE. 31 

to inspire a superstitious multitude with the 
deepest awe, a feeling into which all their belief 
must eventually resolve itself. A consideration 
which increases the probability that this spot 
really was in ancient times selected for religious 
worship, is that there are no other Druidical 
remains in the neighbourhood, whereas, in most 
other of the remote districts of the county, to 
which we are told that the ancient Britons re- 
tired, rock altars, circles, or cromlechs occur very 
frequently. It seems, therefore, not unreasonable 
to suppose that Pen Olver, the most remarkable 
pile of rocks on this part of the coast, was the 
favourite place of worship among the Druids, 
and that the amphitheatre at Belidden, every 
part of which commands a full view of the altar, 
was partially excavated for the convenience of 
the crowds who, on their great festivals, thronged 
to the appointed place. 

While I was walking with a companion round 
this part of the coast, on a very sultry day in 
June, our attention was arrested by an intensely 
black cloud, many miles distant, from which the 



THE CHAIR. 33 

rain was seen pouring literally in torrents, for no 
ordinary shower could have been visible at such 
a distance. So striking was the contrast between 
the deep gloom which it cast in its own neigh- 
bourhood, and the dazzling brightness of the 
sea in the opposite direction, that my compa- 
nion's sketch-book was soon put in requisition. 
Exposed though we were to a scorching sun, 
and unfanned by the lightest breath of air, we 
felt convinced that we should hear of some other 
place being visited by a terrific storm ; and so 
it turned out, for in a few days the newspapers 
gave a melancholy account of a heavy flood in 
the eastern part of the county, so sudden and so 
violent in its effects, that in the course of but a 
few minutes the rivers had swollen above their 
banks, broken down bridges, rendered roads 
impassable, carried aw^ay cattle, haystacks, &c, 
and in a few hours returned to their wonted 
channels, 

A short distance beyond Belidden, the ground 
becomes rougher, being scattered with large wea- 
ther-beaten rocks. One group in particular, called 



34 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



" The Chair," is worthy of being sought out ; it 
is composed of a flat slab, raised a little from 




Belidben. — Storm, at Sea. 



the ground, and supporting a natural seat, with 
side pillars and a roof all of stone. As it is 



BASS POINT. 35 

turned towards the south, it affords no shelter 
from the rays of the sun, but offers a convenient 
retreat from a shower or boisterous wind. From 
this point Pen Olver has a particularly grand 
appearance, and the ground above is equally 
eligible for bidding farewell to Househole Bay, 
the Lions' Den, and the Bumble. 

All along this part of the coast, the rocks 
assume more of the character of the trappean* 
formation, than is apparent elsewhere, especially 
if they are beheld from the sea. They do not 
readily decompose from exposure to the air, nor 
has the sea worn away the base, consequently 
they present neither a slanting nor perpendicular 
continuous surface, but consist of huge weather- 
beaten blocks and slabs, piled together in wild 
grandeur. The next point is usually marked 
in the maps "the Beast Point;" the fishermen call 
it "the Base," a corruption perhaps of Bass, from 
the fish of that name, which abounds here ; and just 
beyond this is the Hot Point. By dint of a little 

* Trap-rock ; a name of German origin, given to volcanic rocks which 
have the tendency of rising above one another like steps. 



36 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

scrambling one may here descend to the water's 
edge and attain a favourite fishing spot, where 
the tide sweeps by the feet like a rapid river. 
Following the safer course, the path brings us to 
a shed, on the brow of the cliff, used by fisher- 
men when on the look-out for pilchards. Here an 
exceedingly beautiful prospect suddenly opens 
on the view ; a noble bay about five miles across, 
formed by picturesque cliffs, broken into an 
undulating line by a succession of picturesque 
valleys ; a flag-staff on one of the highest of 
these, and two or three white cottages peeping 
out from between the headlands, point out the 
locality of the fishing village and coast guard 
station, Cadgwith. 

Someway beyond this the land sinks ; and here 
a narrow yellow line indicates a sandy beach, 
known by the name of Kennack Sands. The 
opposite boundary of the bay is formed by a 
bold, bluff, head-land, the Black-head, a most 
appropriate name, for the whole face of the cliff, 
with the exception of one narrow perpendicular 
strip, called Sparnick, is of a remarkably dingy 



HOT POINT. 37 

hue. In the distance, the Deadman Point is dis- 
tinctly visible, with a vessel or two entering or 
quitting Falmouth Harbour, which lies between ; 
and if the weather be very clear, the Rame 5 Head, 
the most easterly head-land in the country, may 
be descried stretching out a long way on the ho- 
rizon, as unsubstantial in appearance as a fog- 
bank. One or two lobster catchers are creeping 
along under the cliffs in their tiny vessels, and a 
few fishing boats of a larger size are making for 
the offing, there to set their drift-nets, as soon as 
night sets in ; just beneath us, on a projecting 
ledge of rock, lie the whitening bones of a lamb, 
killed and devoured by ravens, before it was 
strong enough to seek safety by flight ; and the 
deep croak of the same bird, or the shrill note of 
the jackdaw, divides with the dashing of the 
sea below us and its murmuring roll beyond 
the whole empire of sound. 

Glorious as this scene is by day, it becomes 
sublime under the influence of a summer or 
autumn moonlight. The single broad path of 
glory emblazoned by a cloudless moon on the 



38 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

sea, at all times one of the most striking objects 
in nature, is here infinitely finer, and more cal- 
culated to produce a spirit of devotion, than I 
have ever seen it elsewhere. It is, I think, im- 
possible for the eye to rest on that bright path, 
terminating as it does in a circle of mild bril- 
liancy, without exciting the mind, the devotional 
mind at least, to meditate on the bright way 
which leads from the dark boundaries of this 
world to the centre of all Light and Goodness. 

After leaving the Hot Point, the path traverses 
a sloping piece of turf, which being more pro- 
tected from the south and west winds than the 
coast previously travelled over, is not so scantily 
furnished with vegetation ; patches of fern and 
heath appear, and near the edge of the cliff even a 
honeysuckle defies the sea-breeze and flowers 
freely. An indentation of the coast forms, a 
little further on, the cove of Kilkobben, which 
may be descended by an easy path. There are 
here traces of mining having been attempted at 
some very remote period, an excavation running 
in from the base of the cliff. Half-way down, two 



KILKOBBEN COVE. 



39 



circular areas also point out where formerly 
stood two windlasses, which were employed in 




SILKOBEEK COVE. 



drawing up a seine-boat on the rock which oc- 
cupies the middle of the cove. It is now en- 
tirely deserted both by miners and fishermen, 



40 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD, 

the study of geology having proved the impro- 
bability of finding metallic ores in such a lo- 
cality, and experience having shewn the superi- 
ority as a fishing-station of another cove. It is 
now only frequented as a bathing-place, for 
which its pebbly beach, clearness from sea-weed, 
and exemption from strong currents, peculiarly 
adapt it. 

A short distance further on, an abrupt descent 
brings us into Penvoose, or Lizard Cove, as it is 
called by way of distinction. This is the seaport 
cf the parish ; not that a large lrumber of vessels 
resort hither at any time, but that a collier 
occasionally lands her cargo here in fine weather, 
running ashore when the tide is convenient, and 
taking care to keep out at sea if there is any 
prospect of a heavy- landward wind. Here too, 
the fishermen embark and haul up their boate 
when the wind is from the west or south-west. 
On the other side of the Lizard Point is another 
cove (Polpeer\. which is used for the same purpose 
when the wind is from the east ; for, generally 
speaking, the wind which raises a heavy sea in one 



POLPEER COVE. 41 

of these coves has little or no effect in the other, 
there being a high, sheltering promontory between 
them. These fishermen had need to be shrewd 
calculators of the probability of a change of 
wind, or they might chance to find their boat 
suddenly imprisoned in a cove, from which there 
was no possibility of setting sail, with a calm 
sea on the other side, but no boat to put to sea 
in. Here is a fish-cellar, by which is meant, 
in Cornwall, a place for salting, keeping and 
storing away pilchards, whenever they are caught 
in sufficient quantities for exportation. 

It may be as well if I here say a few words 
on the subject of the pilchard fishery, that fish 
being not only a source of great profit to the 
persons engaged in its capture, but supplying a 
staple article of food to the poor throughout 
the county. Pilchards are gregarious migratory 
fish, rather less in size than herrings, which 
they resemble in shape, the principal difference 
being that they are covered with larger scales. The 
greater part of the year they spend either in the 
depths of the ocean or on the shores of some 



42 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



northern region ; trie former opinion is, I believe, 
trie more generally received one. The fishing- 
season commences in the latter end of June or 




Tl DC HA.RD. 



the beginning of July; but they are then so 
far from the shore that the boats employed go 
out to the distance of twenty miles before they 
commence operations. Each boat carries a crew 



PILCHARD FISHERY. 43 

of from three to six men and a boy, and a 
very long net, about two fathoms wide, furnished, 
at one edge with a series of corks and at the other 
sinking so far as to remain vertical in the water, 
the corks floating on the surface. 

It is a most interesting sight to watch a fleet 
of twenty or thirty of these boats on a fine sum- 
mer afternoon issuing from behind one of the 
headlands of Mount's Bay, each rigged with 
two dark square sails, and all standing on the 
same tack, and making for the spot which, by 
common consent, is considered the one where 
fish are most likely to abound. At nightfall 
the nets are set either across, or parallel to, 
the tide and suffered to drift with it, hence 
they are called drift nets, and the boats driving 
boats. 

About midnight the nets are hauled, and 
the fish, which have attempted to force their 
way through, but have been entangled by their 
gills, are taken into the boats, and the nets set 
again. The fish, it should be observed, are not 
enclosed, but the nets are constructed with a 



44 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

mesh of such a size that the pilchard can readily 
insert its head, but finding the opening too 
small to allow a passage for its body, attempts 
to draw back, but is prevented by the gills, 
which act like the barbs of an arrow. It is 
only during the night, when the net is invisi- 
ble or indistinctly seen, that fish are caught 
in this way ; bright moonlight is on that account 
unfavourable ; and when the sea abounds with 
phosphorescent particles, which are most con- 
spicuous when in contact with an extraneous 
subject, or when the water is agitated, little 
success is expected. When the water is very 
foul, to use the term usually employed, the fish- 
ermen can see their nets to their full depth like 
a brilliant lacework of fire. In either of these 
latter cases the fish, as they approach the net, 
discover that all is not right, and turn to the 
right or left, not attempting to continue their 
course until they have passed the extremities 
of the obstruction. The schools (a provincial 
pronunciation of shoals) of pilchards are accom- 
panied by large numbers of voracious fish, such 



PILCHARD FISHERY. 45 

as cod, hake, pollack, &c, which come in fo? 
a full share of the spoil. They even attack the 
pilchards when suspended in the nets, so that 
when the latter are taken up they generally con- 
tain many half-eaten fish. Lines baited with 
the favourite food are thrown over by the fish- 
ermen, and generally with good success when 
pilchards are around the boat. 

In the morning the boats return to harbour, and 
it is not a little interesting to watch the bustle, 
and mercantile spirit, which, for a short period, 
are excited in the usually quiet village. A string 
of a score of carts or more is drawn up at a 
short distance from the landing place, each carry- 
ing three or four huge panniers, or maunds, as 
they are termed : the horses most contentedly 
munching very uninviting hay, or tugging at 
yet more unsavory straw in the cart before them : 
the drivers in an alarming state of excitement 
clambering out, whip in hand, on the project- 
ing rocks or pier, as the case may be, vociferat- 
ing at the top of their very high voices the 
price per hundred they are willing to give for 



46 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

the fish : the wives of the fishermen with their 
smaller baskets more calmly waiting the arrival 
of their husbands' boats, climbing into them 
with most unfeminine agility and returning with 
their two or three hundreds for home-consump- 
tion, or to be sold in their neighbourhood : here 
and there a mother screaming to her young son 
to know how many hakes or congers came to 
his 'hook : fishermen, who have resolved not to 
take less than a certain sum, turning a deaf ear 
to all offers and remonstrances, abstractedly pick- 
ing out from their nets the fish caught in the 
last haul : the fortunate purchasers, who have 
concluded a bargain, starting off at full speed 
into the interior of the country : every one 
talking a great deal, very loud, and with a 
singing intonation, which makes two-thirds of 
what is said unintelligible to a stranger, yet 
all with perfect good humour. Such a scene is 
repeated every morning until the last boat has 
arrived, or the last cart departed ; and then the 
village relapses into its ordinary state of apathy, 
and nothing remains to bear testimony of what 



PILCHARD FISHERY. 47 

has been passing but a very strong smell of fish. 
The boats are moored and the fishermen gone 
home to breakfast and bed, their occupation at 
sea seeming to reverse the order observed by 
landsmen : the women are cleaning and salting 
their purchases : the jowsters, or hawkers are 
miles away, making a good profit on their perish- 
able commodity, and the poor making a savoury 
addition to their usual fare of potatoes and salt. 
During this season, the fishermen have little time 
for rest ; their boats or nets need repairs oc- 
casionally, and the latter must be spread on the 
cliff or an adjoining field to dry, for if heaped 
together in their wet state they would soon 
become rotten. 

As the season advances the fish come nearer 
the shore : 

When the corn is in the shock, 
The fish are at the rock. 

This is one of the popular rhymes which, how- 
ever uncouth, always convey a practical truth. 
A fleet of boats may then be seen lying-to, not 
more than a mile from shore, and an exceed- 



48 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

ingly pleasing appearance they present. At 
nightfall, as soon as the nets are set, the men 
light their fires and make tea, the position of 
the boats being pointed out by the blaze from 
their little stoves, rising and falling with the 
motion of the water. If a steam-packet or other 
vessel is descried coming in the direction of their 
nets, a signal to keep off is made by kindling a 
wisp of straw. While the fishing is going on, 
the sails are taken down, and the boats conse- 
quently unable to move out of the way ; be- 
sides which, the floating corks are liable to be 
caught in the keels of passing vessels, and car- 
ried off bodily, thus depriving the men not only 
of their fish but their implements. 

Now, too, another kind of fishing, and that by 
far the most important, is practised, which is 
fishing with a seine. Pilchards, I have said, al- 
ways swim in shoals, and near the surface of the 
water. It is not unusual for a boat to find itself 
suddenly surrounded, at any time of the day, by 
myriads of fish, rising to the top of the water 
and leaping from it, the sea itself being, as it 



PILCHARD FISHERY. 49 

were, in a state of effervescence. In a few mi- 
nutes they are all out of sight. From the land, 
however, if it be elevated much above the sea, 
the position of the shoals is evident for a long 
while and to a great distance. Experienced 
hands can detect a shoal many miles from the 
shore, by the difference of colour produced in 
the water, as well as by unusual flights of sea- 
birds. The excitement now becomes very great ; 
labourers are summoned from the harvest-fields ; 
women finish off their household work in haste, 
and all are in eager anticipation of a catch on a 
grand scale. The seine-boats are hauled down, 
manned, and loaded with their nets in all haste, 
and proceed to the particular spot where expe- 
rience has taught them they will stand the best 
chance of " shooting the seine " with advantage. 
The seine is a large net of a smaller mesh than 
the drift-net, furnished with corks and leads at 
either edge, but much deeper; the boat is im- 
pelled by oars, and the object of the crew is to 
drop the net overboard so as to encircle a shoal 
of fish in shallow water. If this be done adroitly, 

E 



50 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

the fish have no chance of escape, provided that 
the bottom be clear of rocks, and no stormy wea- 
ther ensues, for the leads sink one edge of the 
net to the bottom, the corks buoy up the other 
to the surface, and the ends are brought together, 
leaving no outlet. The difficulty is to perform 
this manoeuvre in a place clear of rocks, and not 
too deep for the nets, and to complete it before 
the rapidly -moving shoal has passed beyond their 
reach. It being impossible for a shoal to be 
descried at any considerable distance from the 
boat, each "concern" has attached to it an ex- 
perienced person, called a " hewer," who takes 
his stand on some high spot of ground on the 
nearest shore, and by preconcerted signals directs 
the crew towards the fish ; and much of course 
depends on his skill and the combined intelli- 
gence, activity, and promptness of his partners. 
After all, the employment is one of much un- 
certainty; it often happens that the boats go out 
for many days in succession, and have no chance 
of trying their skill; sometimes a shoal is en- 
closed, but the lower part of the seine gets en- 



PILCHARD FISHERY. 51 

tangled in a rock, and being thus lifted from 
the bottom, every fish escapes ; sometimes a 
shoal is surrounded, but the fish turn out to be 
sprats, or to be so small as to be unfit for the 
market ; often the seine is shot, but the fish have 
been found to be more on the alert than the 
fisherman ; often the fish have all disappeared 
before the boats have had time to put to sea ; 
and not unfrequently a storm comes on after the 
fish are enclosed, which compels the fishermen 
to take in their nets with all speed, and return 
to port disappointed of their booty, but glad 
to have saved their boats and implements against 
another season, Supposing all circumstances to 
be favourable, the fish to be enclosed in a con- 
venient spot, and the weather to be fine, the first 
thing to be done is to guess the extent of the 
prize, a work which requires no little experience, 
varying as it does from five hogsheads to 1,500 or 
more; opinions on this point are compared, and 
the prevailing one generally found to be accurate 
to an extraordinary degree. The seine is then 
moored, and, at low water, measures are adopted 



52 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

for taking the booty out of the water. This is 
effected by the help of a smaller boat, which 
passes within the circle of floating corks, and lets 
down a small net, called a tuck-net, which, 
when filled, is drawn to the surface, and the fish 
are dipped up in baskets constructed for the 
purpose. As soon as a boat is loaded with as 
many as it can carry, it discharges its cargo as 
near as possible to the fish-cellar and returns 
for another, unless the tide should in the mean 
while have risen so high as to prevent the tuck- 
ing-net from being used with effect. Immedi- 
ately on the arrival of the first boat, business 
begins on shore ; the men are employed in carry- 
ing the fish in " gurries" (hand-barrows) to the 
cellar, where they are deposited in heaps, and 
now begins a very important part of the pro- 
cess, the curing, which is entrusted principally 
to women, a large number of whom are kept at 
work, day and night, until all are secured. The 
floor of the cellar is swept clean, and covered to 
the distance of five or six feet from the wall, with 
a layer of coarse salt, on this is laid a row of fish 



PILCHARD FISHERY. 53 

with their tails touching the wall, outside these 
is laid another row with their tails touching the 
heads of the first, and so on, until what is con- 
sidered a sufficient space is paved with fish. On 
this foundation layer is placed another, each fish, 
however, being surrounded with salt, and this 
process is continued until the pile is several feet 
high, or the supply exhausted. The fish are 
now said to be " in bulk," in which state they 
are suffered to remain for some weeks, during 
which they are subjected to heavy pressure. 
The floor of the cellar slopes from the walls 
towards the centre, where a small channel re- 
ceives the salt and water, which leaks away, and 
afterwards the oil which is expressed, which last 
is collected and clarified. The process of salting 
completed, the fish are pressed into barrels, con- 
taining about 3,000 each, and are now ready for 
the market. Very few of these are consumed in 
the country, the poor having bought their own 
winter's stock, and salted them for themselves. 
The price when fresh varies from sixpence to two 
shillings for 120 fish, according as the season is 



54 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

productive or otherwise. The greater part of 
the cellared fish are exported to the shores of the 
Mediterranean, where, in Roman Catholic dis- 
tricts at least, they are an important article of 
food during Lent. Naples is the principal mart ; 
and here, if the market be overstocked, the sur- 
plus is stored away until the next year. The 
Italians call them fumados* under the impression 
that they have been smoked previously to being 
stored away ; from a corruption of this word they 
are universally called, in Cornwall, " fair-maids," 
an appellation than which a less appropriate one 
can scarcely be conceived. The price per hogs- 
head varies from thirty to fifty shillings, about a 
half of which latter sum is said to be clear gain 
to the proprietors.^ 

* Norden, who made his survey of Cornwall about the year 1384, 
says, that in his time the fish were preserved -' by fuminge and drj^- 
ing : " and again, " The dried ware they carry e into Spayne, Italie, 
Venice, and divers places within the Straytes, where they are very 
vendible ; and in those partes tooke name Fumados y for that the} 7 are 
dryed in the smoake." 

t The quantity of pilchards exported during the year 1847, from 
St. Ives, Penzance, Mevagissey, Falmouth, and Newquay, was 



PILCHARD FISHERY. 55 

The pilchard, when fresh, is very nice broiled 
either whole or peppered and salted. It is also 
very valuable to fishermen as bait for other 
kinds of fish. Salted, it is tough and rancid, but 
nevertheless highly esteemed by the poor. The 
usual way of dressing the cured fish, is to boil 
them in the same saucepan with potatoes, to 
which they are thought to impart an agreeable 
flavour. The refuse fish, and the salt which has 
been employed in the curing, form excellent 
manure. 

After July or August, the pilchards leave the 
coast, and do not reappear until the end of Octo- 
ber or beginning of November. They are then 
anxiously watched for in the Bristol Channel. 
They do not now loiter about the coast, but 

40,883 hogsheads, being the largest quantity for the last twenty years. 
There were exported to Genoa 3,396, Leghorn 7,992, Civita Vec- 
chia 1,986, Naples 16,742, Ancona, Venice, and Trieste 10,767. 
Supposing each hogshead to contain 2,500 fish, the whole number 
exported will amount to 102,207, 500. The average length of a fish is 
nine inches ; and if the above number were formed into a single line , 
it would extend to the distance of 145,200 miles, or form a band, six 
deep, round the world. 



56 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

enter St. Ives Bay on the north coast in innu- 
merable shoals, make the circuit of the bay, and 
proceed towards the Land's End. They then 
take an easterly direction, following the windings 
of the coast, and disappear until the next summer. 
It often happens that the sea is suddenly observed 
to be swarming with fish on one day, and the 
next not a vestige remains. At St. Ives, where 
the fishery is conducted with great spirit, the 
progress of many of the shoals is generally 
arrested, and when this is the case, the air, to 
the distance of several miles, is impregnated with 
their odour for five or six weeks after. So nu- 
merous were the captures last year, 1847, that 
some of the many seines which were shot on 
the 1st of November, remained in the water until 
the 15th, owing to a deficiency of persons to 
take up and cure the fish, although the town 
was thronged by unemployed labourers of all 
occupations from all the places within twenty 
miles. 

From the Lizard Cove, a steep road leads up a 
valley about half a mile long, to the Church- 



58 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

town, for such is the designation given in Corn- 
wall to the buildings, whether many or few, which 
are situated in the neighbourhood of the church. 
The church itself is an unpretending but pleasing 
structure, surrounded by trees, which being shel- 
tered by rising ground in nearly all directions, 
here attain a greater size than anywhere else in 
the parish. The doorway and font are remark- 
able as specimens of the Norman style, and the 
former from having been, until recently, coated 
with numerous layers of whitewash, is in a good 
state of preservation. A part of the church-yard 
which is railed off and planted, contains the 
graves of persons who died of the plague, and 
for a century has never been opened, for fear of 
the re-appearance of that dreadful disease. A 
hedge adjoining the glebe, has on its top some 
ancient and very large tamarisk-trees, which in 
the flowering season are particularly beautiful. 
This tree is said to have been originally brought 
hither from St. Michael's Mount by a carter, who 
having lost his whip, gathered a rod at that 
place, and when arrived at the end of his journey 



LIZARD TOWN. 



59 




DOORWAY IN LAHDEWEBKAC2 CEUECE, 



stuck it into the ground, where it took root, and 
became the progenitor of all the trees of the 
same kind in the district. As it readily grows 



60 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

from cuttings planted early in spring, this story 
is not improbable. Nowhere in Cornwall is it 
decidedly wild, and therefore its new name of 
English Tamarisk* is inappropriate, unless there 
be strong evidence of its being indigenous at 
Hastings. 

About midway between the church and Lizard- 
town stands a round-headed granite cross, which, 
if we may judge from the rudeness of the sculp- 
ture, may be referred to a very ancient period. 
These incitements to pious thoughts in the mind 
of the wayfaring man are very numerous in 
Cornwall, but often sadly desecrated. They may 
not unfrequently be seen forming the stepping- 
stone of a stile, indifference to the purport of 
their erection having robbed them of all interest, 
whether as symbols of our faith or merely as 
antiquities, and a mistaken dread of superstition 
having prevented them from being restored to 
a place of security. Yet more frequently may 
a broken shaft be observed, applied to the same 
ignoble purpose. The commonest form is a 

* Tamarix Anglica* 



LIZARD TOWN. 61 

flattened pillar, dilated at the top into a circular 
disk. The cross itself is either raised on the 
surface of this, or formed by sunken lines, the 
base being not unfrequently supported by a tri- 
angle, the emblem of the Trinity. The height 
varies from two to six feet. 

The collection of cottages which is dignified 
with the name of Lizard-town contains little 
worthy of note. The inhabitants are in general 
quiet, industrious, and orderly, gaining their 
livelihood by fishing, or working as day-labourers 
in the fields. The Cornish language is now ex- 
tinct as a spoken language. As might be ex- 
pected, it lingered longest in the remote districts 
through which there was no thoroughfare, and 
where the inhabitants had little communication 
with more civilized society. " After the restora- 
tion," says Borlase, "we find the Cornish lan- 
guage surviving only in the more western parts, 
where the Rev. Mr. F. Robinson, Rector of 
Landewednack, is the last that I have met with 
who, not long before the year 1678, preached a 
sermon in the Cornish language only." 



62 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



Landewednack was visited by the plague in 
1645, in which year the minister, Mr. Robert 




FOIST IN LANDEWEDNACK CHURCH, 



Sampson, died. It is said that about a century 
afterwards, the part of the churchyard in which 
the persons were buried who had died of the 



PECULIAR CUSTOMS. 63 

pestilence, was opened to receive the bodies of 
a number of ship-wrecked mariners, upon which 
the plague reappeared, but in a mitigated form. 
In consequence of this, that part of the church- 
yard was fenced off and planted, and has never 
been re-opened since. 

The rector of Ruan-minor, by ancient usage 
and prescription, claims a right of sending a horse 
into a certain field in the parish of Landewed- 
nack whenever it is cropped with corn, and taking 
away as many sheaves as the horse can carry 
on his back. A custom also exists in this and 
several adjacent parishes of paying out of the 
church-rates for the destruction of certain ani- 
mals. Among the church-wardens' accounts, for 
instance, we find the following items : 

s. d 
1756 to Shadrack Mitchelfor two heage-hogs 4 
1798 to John Roberts for a badger . . 10 
1802 to John Wills for a fitchet, or polecat . 6 
1811 to John Johns for an oater . . 10 

1811 to Roger Rogers for two foxes . .50 

The climate of the Lizard district is salubrious, 
the inhabitants often attaining a great age. The 



64 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

Rev. Thomas Cole, minister of Landewednack, 
who died and was buried there in 1683, is said in 
the register to have been above 120 years of age. 
The sexton of the same parish, Michael George, 
died in the same year, aged upwards of 100 years. 
Dr. Borlase speaks also of an old man upwards of 
100, of the name of Collins, whom he saw on a 
tour to the Lizard ; this man was buried in 1754, 
aged 104 years. 

A singular custom exists in the parish of Lan- 
dewednack, which seems to have reference to a 
time when the fast of Lent was more rigidly ob- 
served than it is at present. On Shrove Tuesday, 
the poor children, from the ages of six to twelve, 
perambulate the parish begging for Colperra, pro- 
bably an old Cornish word ; but whatever be its 
meaning, they expect to receive eatables or half- 
pence. As few refuse to give, they collect dur- 
ing the day a tolerable booty in the shape of 
money, eggs, buns, apples, &c. The custom has 
existed from time immemorial ; but none of the 
inhabitants are acquainted with its origin. Tra- 
dition asserts that the Lizard was at some very 



PECULIAR CUSTOMS. 65 

remote period colonized by Spanish emigrants. 
There is still something very Spanish about the 
features and complexion of many of the inhabit- 
ants, and there are one or two names which in- 
dicate the same extraction. Possibly the custom 
alluded to above may have been introduced from 
the continent. 

Since writing the above, I have been told that 
in the parishes of Marystowe and Lamerton, in 
Devonshire, the children assemble in large par- 
ties on the same day ; and go from door to door 
singing : — 

"Pancake, pancake ! — a penny for my labour ; 
I see by the string there 's a good dame within, 
I see by the latch I shall have a good catch ; 
Give me a penny, and away I be go." 



66 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



CHAPTER II. 

Most southerly point in England. — Wreck on the Crenval. — Polpeer 
Cove and Caves. — Pistol-meadow. — Lizard-head. — Caerthillian. — 
Kynance Cove. — The Kitchen. — The Bellows. — Asparagus Island. — 
Caves. — Variable appearance presented by tlie sea. 

The uninterrupted view from the cliff in the 
neighbourhood of the Lizard Lights is at all 
times so exceedingly fine, that the tourist will 
scarcely object to make this his point of depar- 
ture a second time, when he sets out to survey 
the coast towards Kynance Cove. And here he 
must make up his mind to a scrambling and, if 
he be not tolerably active, a fatiguing walk. 

A narrow winding path, which follows the edge 
of the cliff, brings us in a few minutes to the 
extreme southerly rock in England. I am not 
aware of any particular mark by which it may 
be distinguished ; one would not indeed suppose 



WRECK ON THE CRENVAL. 67 

that it stretched further south than several other 
rocks on either side of it. But as the conductors 
of the Ordnance Survey decided that it was the 
extreme point, the popular opinion, which was 
formerly in favour of other heads, is giving way. 
It is known in the neighbourhood by the name 
of the Batha. The reef of rocks which stretches 
out from the Lizard to a great distance, and which 
renders the doubling of the promontory danger- 
ous, except with a good offing, is called by the 
general name of the Stags, but many of the in- 
dividual rocks have names of their own. A mas- 
sive insulated rock, for instance, off the Batha, 
which is left dry every ebb-tide, is called the 
Island, or Crenval. It may be readily distin- 
guished by having its summit covered with grass, 
and by being perforated by a natural archway. Not 
many years since, a Quebec vessel, bound for 
Hull, was wrecked on the Stags in the night, 
and went to pieces. The crew had barely time 
to launch their boat, and were immediately driven 
on the Crenval, to the summit of which they 
clambered, and discovered, by the grass which 



68 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

grew there, that they were beyond the reach of 
the waves. In the morning they gained the 
mainland, some bringing a portion of their clothes, 
one man a nine-gallon cask of rum, and another 
a live pig, which he had brought from America 
as a present for his brother in England. On 
arriving at the village, they were, to their great 
astonishment, greeted by their own cat, who, 
when the vessel went to pieces, swam ashore 
with the loss of her tail, which was supposed 
to have been pinched off between two pieces of 
timber. The pig was sold to a farmer in the 
village, and puss quartered herself at the public- 
house, where her tail-less condition, for many 
years after, originated a repetition of the history 
of the wreck on the Crenval. 

Not much further on, a tolerably good road, 
cut out of the solid rock, leads down to Polpeer, 
one of the two coves in the parish from which 
fishing-boats put to sea. This is a pleasant sandy 
recess, formed by a reef of rocks running out into 
the sea, on one side, and by a steep cliff, worn 
into numerous caves, on the other. One lofty- 



CAVE AT POLPEER. 69 

arched cavern is beautifully tapestried by marine 
ferns, the floor is of fine yellow sand, and all 
about are numerous little pools, in which the 
brightest coloured sea-weeds abound. Among 
the rocks a great variety of shells may be picked 
up, though they must be hunted after with cau- 
tion, for the tide comes in here very rapidly, 
and is liable to cut off one's retreat. I was one 
day wandering about on the reef at low water, 
searching for shells and sea-weeds, when I sud- 
denly observed the water rising among the loose 
stones, and made haste to regain the shore ; and 
lucky it was that I discovered the turn of tide 
so soon, for, as it was, I had to wade through two 
feet of w r ater before I reached terra Jirma. 

With some little difficulty we can proceed about 
a hundred yards close to the base of a cliff, until 
we reach a ledge of rock which is impassable. 
At this point, facing round to the land, we observe 
a ragged perpendicular chink in the cliff, the 
low T er part of which is blocked up by a huge mass 
of rock. If we either crawi under, or climb over, 
this, we find ourselves in a deep and lofty cavern 



70 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




CAVE AT POLPES?., 



extending a considerable 
distance inwards, and 
lighted from the south by 
the aperture already de- 
scribed, and a little fur- 
ther in, by a similar cleft 
that looks towards the 
west. An exit is easily 
effected through the lat- 
ter passage, but at the ex- 
pense of a wet foot, for 
a pool of water occupies 
the entrance, and the 
rocks are too steep to 
admit of being ascended. 
This cave, though little 
known, is one of the most 
striking on the coast, be- 
ing remarkable not only 
for the bold outline of 
its orifices, but from 
presenting two entirely 
different views, owing 



CAVE AT POLPEER. 



71 



to its being situated 
exactly at the point 
where the line of 
coast takes a new- 
direction. The walls 
of the cave are 
thickly covered with 
a dense conferva-like 
vegetable, and appear 
as if lined with rich 
purple velvet. For 
some distance beyond 
this, the rocks are cu- 
riously eaten out or 
perforated, but care 
must be taken that 
they be visited before 
low water, for to be 
caught there by the 
rising tide would 
be perilous in the 
extreme. After a 
scramble of about 




Z^-~S A3 ~Z- 



72 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




CAVE AT POLPEER. 



half a mile in length, we reach another slight 
turn in the coast, where deep water meets the 



PISTOL-MEADOWS. 



73 



base of the cliff, and as there is here no friendly 
double-mouthed cave to help us over the diffi- 
culty, our only alternative is to ascend to the 
summit of the cliff. 

Pursuing our way in the same direction, we 
descend into a meadow, several mounds in which 
indicate that it is the burying-place of more than 
one shipwrecked mariner. Of all the tales of 
shipwreck told at the Lizard, the story connected 
with Pistol-meadow is the saddest and most fre- 
quently repeated. Its date I could not ascertain, 
but it must, I concluded, have taken place more 
than a century ago. A transport, having on 
board the governor of some distant colony, with 
his suite, and 700 men, was driven on a group 
of rocks, still called from the incident, the Man- 
of-war Rocks, and dashed to pieces. Two 
only of the whole company reached the shore 
alive, and these two it is said, being well ac- 
quainted with the coast, had ventured to remon- 
strate with the captain for steering his course so 
near the dangerous headland. They were re- 
warded by being put in irons, and in irons they 



74 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

were washed ashore, to bear testimony to their 
captain's obstinacy. Two hundred dead bodies 
were subsequently washed on shore and buried 
iii pits, containing from twenty to thirty each, in 
this meadow, which from the large quantity of 
fire-arms that were picked up, received the name 
of Pistol-meadow. The fishermen say, that they 
can even now descry, with the help of their 
water-glasses, pieces of cannon lying at the 
bottom where the ship went to pieces ; and they 
also aver, that dogs of all kinds are held in great 
detestation in the parish, because a great number 
of these animals assembled from all parts of the 
country to devour the dead bodies which were 
then washed ashore.* Many persons in the 
parish are still afraid to pass through Pistol-mea- 
dow after dark. 

* More than twenty years ago, I heard, in a fishing village a few 
miles east of the Lizard, an anecdote which would seem to shew 
that the fishermen of this coast formerly entertained a superstitious 
dislike of all quadrupeds. It was then considered highly improper 
to mention the name of any four-footed beast, after the boat had 
put out to sea ; so far did this feeling extend, that if any one of the 
crew, either accidentally or intentionally mentioned the name of one, 



LIZARD-HEAD. 75 

From the bold headland beyond this gloomy 
spot, a new scene suddenly opens on the tourist, 
and by far the grandest and most picturesque that 
he has yet met with. The promontory on which 
he stands terminates in three masses of lofty 
piled rocks, of which the most easterly is called 
the Little Lizard : the westerly and the largest, 
the Old Lizard-Head. A short way off from the 
shore is a black rock called the Quadrant. The 
headland which forms the opposite extremity of 
the little bay to the west, is called the Rill : 
Kynance Cove is strongly marked by its group of 
towering rocks about the middle of the sweep, 
and in front of Kynance an isolated mass of lofty 
rock called Innis Vean, or, the Lion-rock, appears 

it was considered the greatest fool-hardiness to persevere in the ex- 
pedition. It had happened that a quarrel had taken place between 
two fishermen, belonging to different boats, and the one who con- 
sidered himself aggrieved, adopted the following strange method of 
revenge. After dark, he boarded his enemies' boat, and secretly- 
nailed to the bow the foot of a fox, and went home. Next morning, 
when the boats were on the point of starting for their respective 
destinations, the trick was discovered, when the party on whom the 
trick had been played immediately lowered their sails, returned to 
shore, and did not venture out again for the remainder of the day. 



76 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

to have been cut off by some instantaneous con- 
vulsion of nature from the mainland. Higher than 
any of these, towers a pile of craggy rocks look- 
ing down on Ky nance, called the Tar Box, a cor- 
ruption it has been suggested, of Tor Balk. 

An easy walk of about twenty minutes, brings 
us to Caerthillian, a ravine through which runs 
a stream of water. Stepping over this, we 
ascend by a series of steps, cut in the steep turf, 
to a pile of rocks, not remarkable for height or 
grandeur, but commanding a beautiful view on 
one side of Kynance and the Rill, on the other, 
of the ground which we have just traversed. If 
the sky be clear, and the hour of sunset not far 
distant, it will be well worth while to sit here 
and watch the sun going down behind the Rill. 
As we look toward the west, the rugged projec- 
tions of the cliffs melt away into an uniform 
purple as rich as the boldest landscape-painter 
will dare to transfer to his canvas, while the head- 
land to the left has its very least inequalities of 
surface brought prominently forward with broad 
red light, or thrown back into positive shadow 



H0LESTR0W. 77 

with a distinctness not to be observed at any 
other period of the day. 

If the tourist be here overtaken by sunset, he 
had better defer his first visit to Kynance until the 
morrow ; for he has yet a good way to go, and too 
many objects of interest remain, that he should 
content himself with a mere hasty twilight inspec- 
tion of them. In this case, he may either retrace 
his steps and be ready to watch the rising of the 
moon from the Lizard Point, or proceed direct by 
a pathway across the fields to the village. But if 
he have plenty of time before him, he may press on, 
and will speedily reach Holestrow. This remark- 
able spot, apparently owes its formation to the 
sudden falling away of an immense mass of the 
cliff, the perpendicular side of which is turned 
towards the sea, but separated from it by a 
depressed platform of turf and loose stones, 
which latter have fallen from the rocks above. 
The base of the false cliff, if it may be so termed, 
is concealed by masses of rock, which from their 
fresh colour, appear to have recently fallen, and 
the whole place resembles a huge quarry. Here 



78 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

may be found some of the most curious varieties 
of veined serpentine, broken into pieces of a 
convenient size for the collector to carry away. 
They are often worked into candlesticks, ink- 
stands, letter-presses, &c, and take a good polish, 
but are for the most part so liable to fracture, 
that they are rarely formed into larger articles. 

Just beyond this, great care must be taken 
in approaching the edge, for owing to a peculiar 
rise of the ground, the tourist may, in a certain 
spot, be standing within a few feet of the brink 
of a terrific precipice without being at all aware 
of it. This is the Yellow Cairn ; an abrupt 
promontory 200 feet high, and so perpendicu- 
lar, that a plummet might be dropped from 
the summit into the sea, or at least among 
the rocks beneath. It is separated from an im- 
mense insulated rock called Innis Vean by a 
channel, which is constantly being widened by 
the falling away of new portions of the main- 
land. A gentleman informed me that he was 
standing on a rock hard by, a year or two 
since, when a mass of loose stone forming a large 



KYNANCE COVE, 79 

portion of the face of this cliff fell with terrific 
noise into the sea. Innis Vean, from its inacces- 
sible nature, is a favourite resort of sea-birds. 

We have now to descend for a short distance, 
cross the bed of a stream, the course of which is 
marked by great stones and aquatic plants, and, 
after mounting the acclivity on the opposite side, 
soon arrive at the Tor Balk, from the top of 
which, the view represented in the frontispiece, 
suddenly bursts on the sight, a view much easier 
to be remembered than described. 

The celebrated antiquarian, Charles Littleton, 
Dean of Exeter, subsequently Bishop of Carlisle, 
made a tour through Cornwall with the historian 
of Cornwall, Dr. Borlase, and thus describes his 
impression of the Lizard, and more particularly 
Kynance Cove : — 

" The next morning Mr. Borlase and myself 
set out after Breakfast for the Lizard Point. 
Our Way lay through the Goonhelly Downs, 
which are no other than boggy, naked, barren 
moors, with not a Tree or even a Shrub to be 
seen for 8 or 9 miles riding. At the end of these 



80 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

Downs, you come to a miserable Village, and a 
mile further another rotten moor brings you to a 
Glyn or narrow Vallow, the sides of which are 
sow'd as it were with vast masses of Rag-Stone. 
At the top of this Glyn we left our horses, and 
descended into the Vally on foot. When we 
arrived at the extremity of it, a natural Arched 
Entrance through a vast Red Rock led us into 
the finest piece of Scenery that sportive Nature 
ever produced : on the right hand you see the 
boldest Rocky shore glistning with spars and 
mundicks, and enamelled with a thousand dif- 
ferent hues. Under these Rocks the Sea has 
formed Cavities large enough to admit of twenty 
People commodiously in each Cove ; from one 
you see a little arm of the Sea, which at low 
Water comes within less than twenty Yards of 
you, dashing its waves against a vast Rock that 
stands entirely detach' d from any other. From 
another Cove you have a sight of the Ocean, but 
agreeably interrupted on the right hand by an 
immense high broken Rock detached, like the 
former, from the Rocks which join the main 



KYNANCE COVE. 81 

Land ; and this Rock, as well as all the others, is 
alike enamell'd with the most beautiful Colours, 
and decorated with Samphire and other Sea 
Plants which hang down from several parts of it. 
It is impossible, without your Poetical Genius, 
to do justice to this singular scene, for there are 
a Thousand Beautys still to be described, which 
a dull narration will give you no Idea of. The 
excessive shining Whiteness of the Sand, and 
several small Basons full of Limpid Sea Water, 
which the Tide leaves behind when the Sea is 
out, the various Windings and Turnings which 
the different Groups of Rocks oblige you to 
make in traversing this splendid Court of Nep- 
tune, ought all to be taken into the Description, 
but the Task is too great for me, and therefore I 
must refer you to Mr. Borlase's Drawing for the 
general Idea of the Place, and for the singular 
beauty of the stones which these rocks consist 
of, to a small specimen, which I shall bring with 
me to Hagley. 

" N.B. The name of the Place is Kinance, very 
near the famous Soapy Rock at the Lizard Point, 

G 



82 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

which you know is the most Southerly Point in 
Great Britain. Miller will find it in the Map 
near Landewenock Parish. On my return from 
hence to Trelowarren, I call'd at the Lizard 
Village upon an old man, who was reported to be 
111 years of age, but on talking with him, I 
think he is not so old by six years ; however, he 
is old enough to remember very well a dispute 
between a Blacksmith and Tanner in his own 
Parish, the one a Royalist the other a Parliamen- 
tarian, concerning Charles 2nd right to the crown, 
just before the Restoration, which did not end 
till they had thrashed each other stoutly, but the 
honest Cavalier had the better of his Antagonist, 
who was at last willing (as the old man told me) 
to let the King come quietly home and enjoy his 
own. This antient Cornu-Britain has all his 
senses perfect, except his Hearing, which he has 
not quite lost, never was blooded in his Life, and 
seldom took Physick, nor ever had the Small 
Pox." 

It is necessary, however, that we should de- 
scribe the most interesting features of this ro- 



THE KITCHEN. 83 

mantic spot more in detail ; and in order that we 
may do this, we must request the reader once 
more to turn to the frontispiece. Descending 
the deep ravine between the spectator and the 
scene before us, by a rough winding road on the 
right, we pass by the mill, and a humble cabin, 
where polished specimens of serpentine are sold, 
and step at once on the firm white sand with 
which, during the summer months, the cove is 
filled. 

Turning to the right, we may pass through 
either of the natural archways represented in the 
cut, and, if the tide be in, must here wait, in a 
recess called the Kitchen, until the water has 
receded from the point which it now just washes. 
Having passed this, we come out on a platform 
of sand raised above the level of the rest of the 
beach by the washing of the sea round the iso- 
lated rocks which occupy the middle of the cove. 
The central island, in the shape of a depressed 
cone, is covered with herbage, and is called from 
the plant,* which grows on it in considerable 

* Asparagus officinalis. 



84 



A WEEK AT THE LIZAED. 




TEE KITCHEN. 



quantities, Asparagus Island. It may readily be 
ascended on the western or right side ; but before 
we have proceeded far, the attention is arrested 
by a loud roaring noise which issues from two 
holes in the rock, followed by a jet of water, 
which, if the sea be stormy, is driven out with 
such force as to envelope us in a cloud of mist. 
The lower of these holes is not unaptly called the 



THE BELLOWS. 



85 




TELB BELLOWS, 



Bellows ; the upper is known by the name of the 
Post Office, because, if a sheet of paper be held 
near the orifice, it is violently torn from the 
hand by the inward current of air, and carried 
in with a loud noise. Asparagus Island is 
evidently traversed by a subterraneous p tun- 
nel, formed probably by the decomposition of a 
lode of soft rock. One extremity is on the sea- 



86 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

side of the island, and, as the tide rises, is 
periodically filled with water, which, rushing in 
through the opening every time that a wave beats 
against it, forcibly expels air and water through 
the Bellows and Post Office. As the wave recedes 
through the seaward orifice, the air rushes in 
through the openings on the land side, and this 
process is repeated as long as both extremities 
are exposed to the rising and falling of the waves, 
being more or less violent according as the sea 
is rough or smooth. At low-water, when the 
waves do not rise to the external opening, and 
at high- water, when the tunnel is filled, no effect 
is produced. Great caution must be used in ap- 
proaching the Bellows, for the water often rises 
instantaneously after some minutes of perfect 
rest, and would sweep one away with irresistible 
force. I was once standing here, waiting to see 
the Bellows work, when a gentleman of the party 
imprudently ventured to peep into the Post 
Office. He had scarcely brought his eye to the 
orifice, when, without the least warning, out 
burst a jet of water which knocked off his hat 



ASPARAGUS ISLAND. 87 

into the sea, drenched the upper part of his per- 
son, and terrified him and his companions not 
a little, though he escaped with the loss of his 
hat. 

The remainder of the ascent is not difficult. 
Once arrived at the summit, a stretch on the 
long soft grass, and a quiet gaze on the enchant- 
ing scenery all around, make ample amends for 
whatever fatigue may have been incurred. 

Asparagus Island is separated from the pinna- 
cled rock beyond it by a deep narrow channel, 
which is at all times filled with water. Some ad- 
venturous climbers spring across this and ascend 
to the very top of the Gull Rock ; but the risk is 
great, and there can be but little to reward them 
for their pains beyond a bird's-eye view of the 
cove, scarcely more commanding than that from 
the island. 

If we descend by the eastern side of the island, 
by a difficult and somewhat dangerous path, if 
path it can be called, we encounter a huge 
cavernous hole, at the bottom of which the sea 
boils with terrific fury. Once arrived at the 



88 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

mouth, there is no difficulty in descending into 
it far enough to. see the light shining through 
from the opposite side of the island, and to dis- 
cover the channel by which the waves gained 
admission into the roaring caldron. The contrast 
here exhibited between the snow-white foam and 
the black polished rocks is very fine, but unless 
the tourist has good nerve and a steady foot, he 
is recommended not to attempt it ; the rocks are 
very slippery, and the footing otherwise insecure. 

The descent from Asparagus Island is most 
easily effected on the side nearest the shore, and 
here the assistance of the guides, who are usually 
found hovering about Kynance, is very useful. 
They lend a steady hand, and give directions, in 
the more difficult places, as to where the foot can 
be placed with safety. A tolerably good climber, 
however, can make the descent with ease. 

Our next step is to explore the caves which 
face Asparagus Island ; they are remarkable not 
only for their size and picturesque carving, but 
from the beautiful colours of the rocks of which 
they are composed ; black, white, green, yellow, 



CAVES. 89 

and red, all polished by the action of the sea, 
and intermixed in endless variety, sufficiently 
account for the name of Serpentine being given 
to the formation. There are several mouths to the 
caves, but they all communicate internally, and 
as the floor is composed, in summer, of smooth 
sand, they may be explored without risk. The 
cave immediately fronting Asparagus Island is 
called the Parlour ; that a little to the west, 
looking towards the Rill, is called the Drawing- 
room. 

The tourist must take great care that he be 
not here caught by the tide, for there is always a 
large area of sand here uncovered by the water 
long after his return is cut off by the archways 
at the entrance of the cove, and he will find some 
difficulty in ascending the face of the cliff with- 
out the direction and assistance of a guide. In 
winter the whole of the sand is washed away, and 
the beach is then composed of huge polished 
stones, the archways are of course then much 
more elevated, and the caves infinitely grander, 
though not so easy of access. 



ROYAL VISIT TO KYNANCE. 91 

In the year 1846, Prince Albert and the Royal 
children landed at Kynance, and by their kind 
condescension won for themselves golden opinions 
among the few of Her Majesty's loving Cornish 
subjects who chanced to be on the spot. The rock 
on which the Royal party landed will long continue 
to be pointed out as particularly interesting. 

A person from an inland district visiting the 
sea for the first time, in moderately fine weather, 
could not fail, at the first glance, to be deeply 
impressed by the idea of boundlessness which it 
conveys ; but he would scarcely imagine that the 
measureless plain before him was liable to as 
many changes in appearance as are frequently pre- 
sented even during so short a period as a week. 
He might form in his own mind an idea, however 
imperfect, of the lashing roar of the waves when 
roused into fury by a landward tempest ; but the 
possibility would never occur to him that the 
breakers could become so violent as to dash over 
the highest rocks at the Lizard, and, scaling the 
loftiest cliffs, to fall back exhausted, but undaunt- 
ed, upon the succeeding billows. Yet I have 



92 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

stood on the cliff opposite Asparagus Island at 
Kynance, during a storm, and seen the waves 
from the right and left clash together between 
me and the island, forming a terrific mass of 
shattered water, so high and so dense, that I have 
for a time lost sight both of the island itself and 
the towering Gull-rock behind. To say that the 
foam was dashed into vapour, or, that in the in- 
tervals between the clashings of the waves, the 
sea beneath me was like a boiling caldron, are 
expressions which convey an utterly inadequate 
notion of the reality. At such times the very 
eyes of the spectator are overpowered ; they can- 
not comprehend what they are called upon to 
behold, while the ears are filled with the in- 
creasing roar of the battling elements. To make 
oneself audible to a companion standing at one's 
elbow, the voice must be raised to the highest 
pitch, and but few words occur to the mind as 
being meet for utterance. When the voice of 
the Lord is thus heard in its terror, the least 
presumptuous course for man to pursue is to 
listen in silence. Through the haze formed by 



VARIABLE APPEARANCES. 93 

the spray the distant headlands are dimly visi- 
ble, white from their base to the summit, and 
huge balls of foam, worked into a compact froth, 
fly like living things up the face of the cliff, and 
scud away before the gale, sometimes dashed 
upon the ground and continuing their race in 
fragments, or soaring aloft and not alighting 
until they have traversed a distance of a mile or 
more, and sometimes wheeling in eddies into a 
ravine, which they fill up like drifted snow to 
the depth of many feet, This is a winter's scene, 
and consequently not often witnessed by the 
casual visitor. Its effects are most terrible at 
high spring-tides, and when the gloom of evening 
is approaching. 

The other extreme is the dead calm of a cloud- 
less summer's day, which only occurs after a con- 
tinuance of fine weather both in the immediate 
neighbourhood and for very many leagues round. 
Not unfrequently it happens that a heavy surge 
is running at the Lizard, though the air has been 
still for many days before. This difference of 
condition between the two elements is to be at- 



94 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

tributed to the fact of a storm having taken place 
in a distant part of the ocean, and is thus ac- 
counted for : — When the sea is disturbed by the 
wind, the motion of the water does not extend to 
a great depth downwards, but is communicated 
laterally to an extraordinary distance. Thus, if 
we throw but a small stone into a smooth pond 
it displaces a very small quantity of water, and 
sinks to the bottom without making any con- 
siderable disturbance of the water beneath; as 
we may infer from the very small quantity of 
mud which it raises : but the lateral disturbance 
is quite disproportionate to the size of the stone, 
for a series of circles is formed on the surface of 
the water, which enlarge until they reach the 
sides of the pond in the form of little waves. Now 
the disturbance occasioned in the middle of a 
wide ocean by a violent tempest is on a large 
scale what the fall of a stone is into a pond. 
Huge circles of heaving billows continually pro- 
ceed from a common centre, and agitate the sea 
over an amazing distance ; they are not percept- 
ible on a remote shore at the exact time that 



VARIABLE APPEARANCES. 95 

the storm begins, as they take some time to tra- 
verse a wide expanse of water ; but, on the other 
hand, they continue to roll on long after the 
storm has ceased, or whirled away to some more 
remote tract of ocean, for even when the last 
circle has been sent forth from its centre, there 
are various exciting causes which keep the sea 
in an agitated state, such as opposing tides and 
currents, and the reaction of the wave from the 
shore. Besides, it has been ascertained that the 
wind during storms has a twofold motion, one 
circular, that is to say, in one spot blowing to- 
wards the north, then bending round towards the 
east, then to the south, and then to the west, 
until finally it returns nearly to the same spot 
from which it first began to move onwards ; so 
that whatever part of the circle we take, the 
wind is there blowing from a point of the com- 
pass different from that in any other part of the 
circle. It does not, however, return exactly to 
the same point ; for, meanwhile, the circle itself 
has been progressing bodily in a certain direction, 
leaving a calm where it had been most violent, 



96 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

and introducing tumult when its distant effects 
only had hitherto been felt. Thus, we often hear 
of a tempest having occurred in a certain district, 
the wind being from the north-east ; and at 
another place a hundred miles off, it raged at the 
same time with the wind from the south-west. 
These two places we should therefore infer were 
at opposite points in the circumference of the 
same great circle. In intermediate places, pro- 
bably, we should hear that the weather was scarcely 
stormy and the wind varying ; or that a hurricane 
had visited them some time before or after, but 
blowing from a quarter different from either. 
A phenomenon analogous to this, but on a minute 
scale, we may frequently observe where an irre- 
gular current of wind is produced by hedges or 
rows of houses. Dust and bits of straw are sud- 
denly raised from the ground and whirled on- 
wards in a circle, and presently all is still again. 
To a colony of minute insects the little whirl- 
wind traversing the road is much the same as a 
tempest is to us larger insects. 

Thus, on the shore of a wide open sea, where 



VARIABLE APPEARANCES. 97 

no land stretches out to check an impulse once 
given to the surface of the water, it frequently 
happens that while the air is still, the sea heaves 
in enormous surges and dashes with great fury 
on the rocks. Observed from a distance, it does 
not appear to be in motion, for the surface is not 
ruffled, nor are there any breakers, except when 
it encounters rocks, or an opposing tide; but 
vessels, though becalmed, labour very heavily, 
rising and falling with a motion which to lands- 
men who happen to be on board, is far more un- 
pleasant than the tossing occasioned by a stiff 
breeze. 

Experienced fishermen on this coast, often dis- 
cover, from certain appearances attendant on the 
swell in fine weather, indications of an approach- 
ing storm, many hours, and sometimes even a day 
or two before it arrives, and even prophesy from 
what quarter of the heavens the wind will 
blow. 

Sometimes, the sea, as far as the eye can reach, 
is as smooth as a sheet of glass, just glistening 
sufficiently to shew that its waters are subject 

H 



98 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

to the motion of the tides. At such times, one 
may discern from the cliffs what is the nature 
of the bottom, sand appearing of a bright 
green, rock of a dark olive, and both colours 
mingling in the distance into a blue or grey 
which accord with the tint of the sky. Large 
fish may then be seen from the cliffs idling 
about the rocks ; or, a little way out, shoals of 
mackerel or pilchards gambol about on the sur- 
face ; if seen from a distance, detected by the 
rough appearance which they occasion in the 
water ; but if near the shore, actually visible 
as they simultaneously rise and fling themselves 
into the air, then suddenly sinking, and shortly 
reappearing, where perhaps one would least ex- 
pect them. These shoals are frequently accom- 
panied by flocks of gulls, which, unable though 
they are to dive, nevertheless have a quick eye 
and a never-failing clutch, so that while these 
fish are on the coast they enjoy many a rich 
banquet. 

In the latter part of the season gannets also 
follow the shoals. Their mode of fishing is 



NATURAL HISTORY. 99 

different from that of the gulls. They soar aloft 
until they are exactly over the shoals, and sud- 
denly fall, piercing the water with as little splash 
as if a bullet had been let drop, and disappearing 
until they have secured their prize. 

Sometimes the shoals are pursued by enemies, 
natives of their own element. A troop of por- 
poises pursues them, rising now and then to the 
surface with a short asthmatic snort, roiling over 
their unwieldy bodies and again disappearing. 
More rarely, a company of huge grampuses comes 
into the bay, to the alarm not only of the fish, 
but of the fishermen, with whose nets they make 
sad havoc. 

The cormorant, an indefatigable fisherman, may 
be seen on the coast at most times. He carries on 
his employment in a way different from both 
that of the gull and the gannet. He is an ex- 
cellent diver, stays below a long time, and when 
he rises to the surface, recovers his breath in a 
few seconds. The quantity of fish that he con- 
sumes is very great ; when satisfied, he betakes him- 
self (generally skimming with outstretched neck 

LofC. 



100 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

close to the water) to some sunny rock, where lie 
spreads his wings to be dried in the sun, and 
remains perfectly still, until, having digested his 
last meal, he is ready to go in quest of another. 
If disturbed by any one within what he thinks 
a dangerous distance, he drops instantaneously 
from his perch, and disappears under the water : 
but if the intruder be at a distance which his 
experience has taught him to be safe, he takes 
no notice of shouting or clapping of hands, but 
sits still in supreme indifference. He is often 
seen fishing close to the rocks, and may, when 
the sea is still, be descried making his way 
under water. 

Persons unused to coast scenery must not sup- 
pose that even during fine weather the sea always 
presents the same appearance. Far from this, 
every variation of wind, and every new arrange- 
ment of clouds, produces what artists term a dif- 
ferent effect. The mere sinking of the sun a few 
degrees creates a change in the tint of the sea, 
greater distinctness of one cliff and dimness of 
another, 



" WHITE HORSES." 101 

At one time, what little air is moving blows 
in the same direction with the tide ; in L this case 
the sea is smooth, and the set of the current 
is marked by lines like the tracks of carriage- 
wheels : an hour or two after, the tide is running 
in an opposite direction, when the surface of the 
water is ruffled, presenting a different colour, and 
the tide streams off from the headlands in grace- 
ful lines of foam. If the wind freshens into a 
breeze, the sky remaining clear, the sea assumes 
a deep blue colour, and every wave has a white 
crest, or, as mariners say, the sea is covered with 
"white horses." 

The places where there are sunken rocks are 
marked by sheets of foam, and over the insu- 
lated rocks which are slightly elevated out of 
the water every billow breaks covering them 
with a canopy of spray, and immediately dis- 
closing them decorated with miniature cascades. 
Wherever there is a sandy beach, long curling 
waves roll on in unbroken succession, sweeping 
high upon the sand, and not retiring without an 
effort to collect what force yet remains unspent 



102 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

for a fresh attack on the shore. About one in 
every nine is more boisterous and sweeps higher 
than the rest : this the fishermen call " the death 
wave/' a name which suggests the idea of some 
poor mariner escaping from a shipwreck, and 
carried back to a watery grave at a time when his 
struggles had placed him almost beyond the reach 
of his enemy. 

The roaring of the sea on such occasions is 
continuous, but nevertheless partaking the cha- 
racter of the element from which it pro- 
ceeds, falling upon the ear in waves of sound 
always loud but nevertheless deepened at short 
and quick intervals, now and then almost over- 
powered by the sharp clash of a monstrous bil- 
low rising before it breaks against a projecting 
eminence, or emitting a deep sound like the roar 
of thunder as it bursts into, and is driven back 
from, some one of the numerous cavities in which 
the coast abounds. 

In calmer weather the roar subsides into a 
gentle murmur, interrupted at long intervals by 
a sound resembling the explosion of a distant 



THE HUE OF THE SEA. 103 

cannon, occasioned by the violent expulsion of 
air and foam through a narrow orifice from a 
cave suddenly filled by water rising through 
another entrance. So peculiar is this noise 
that I have scarcely ever heard it without invo- 
luntarily raising my eyes to see whether there 
were not a vessel in the offing firing a signal- 
gun. 

The hue of the sea on this coast depends prin- 
cipally on two united causes, the state of the 
sky, whether clear or otherwise, and the state of 
the water, whether rough or calm. To these must 
be added the situation of the sun, whether before 
or behind the spectator ; for one may stand on a 
headland with the sea on the right grey, but 
brilliantly reflecting the sun's rays, while that on 
the left reflects no light, but is coloured of the 
deepest blue. 

Endless changes are produced by the passing 
of clouds, the shadows cast by which vary as 
much in tint as they do in shape. In the course 
of a few hours all the appearances which have 
been mentioned may present themselves, or 



104 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

there may be a mass of grey in front, with 
bright blue in the distance, or the reverse ; 
the sky becomes overcast, and the sea inky ; a 
troop of clouds passes over the middle distance, 
and the sea is apparently bounded by a dark line 
resembling an horizon ; and if the line of sepa- 
ration between sea and sky be indistinctly marked, 
owing to the hazy state of the atmosphere, the 
vessels sailing in the sunshine beyond seem to be 
elevated into the sky. In sultry weather a mist 
frequently sets in from the sea and shrouds in an 
impenetrable veil everything but the dark cliffs 
in the immediate neighbourhood and the white 
line of foam at their base. 



105 



CHAPTER III. 

Effect of air on Serpentine-rock. — Calm near the verge of the Cliff in 
stormy weather. — Slieep- stealers' Cave, — Hie Rill. — The Apron-string. 
— Botanical Scramble. — The Horse and Horse-pond. — Climbing for 
Gulls Eggs. — Pigeon Hugo. — Gue Graze. — A Sea-mist. — Soap-Rock. 
— Sheep-stealers. — Botanical A dventure. 

The ascent from Kynance proceeding west- 
ward is steep but not difficult, and when we have 
reached the summit we shall do well to keep close 
to the edge of the cliff, for, though there is no 
pathway, the ground is unusually level and pre- 
sents few impediments. It has been remarked 
that wherever the serpentine rock is washed by 
the sea, as in the cove beneath, it presents a beau- 
tifully polished appearance ; here, however, the 
masses of rock which protrude through the turf 
are remarkably rough, and of a brownish-red hue, 
almost resembling old, rusty iron. The geolo- 
gical hammer is necessary before we can discover 



106 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

the true structure of the stone. By chipping the 
rock, however, we detect the same admixture of 
colours in the newly-exposed parts, and conclude 
that the rusty hue of the exterior is occasioned 
by the decomposition effected by the oxygen of 
the atmosphere, and we may infer that the al- 
tered parts of the rock below the water-mark 
are successively worn away by the lashing of the 
waves. 

This being a very exposed part of the walk, 
if it should happen that a strong wind is blowing 
against the face of the cliff, it will add much to 
our comfort to be acquainted with the following 
fact : — Whenever a high wind blows directly 
against the face of a precipitous cliff, the obstruc- 
tion which it encounters compels it, without 
exhausting its force, to take a new direction, 
and this is invariably upwards, for the sim- 
ple reason that it is prevented by the sea or 
the rocks from proceeding downwards. Thus 
there is always, under these circumstances, a 
strong wind blowing up the face of the cliff. 
When this current reaches the verge of the cliff, 



CALM IN STORMY WEATHER. 107 

it encounters another, which is pursuing a hori- 
zontal course from the sea. The two forces 
combine after an apparent struggle, and the 
practical benefit to the pedestrian is, that within 
a few feet of the verge of the precipice, the wind 
makes an archway over his head, under which he 
may walk in a comparative calm. If he thrusts 
his head beyond the edge he will feel a strong 
upward current, or if he throw over any light 
substance he will see it blown back and carried 
away over his head ; if, on the other hand, he 
step a few paces backwards, he will encounter a 
current either beating downwards, or travelling on 
in its original direction. The distance of this 
covered way, from the verge of the cliff, varies 
according to the height of the cliff, its departure 
from the perpendicular, and the violence of the 
wind ; but if the ground be such that he can 
choose his way, he will have little difficulty in 
securing for himself a sheltered course. But if 
a high wind be blowing either on his back or in 
his face, he must bear the whole brunt, and more- 
over proceed with great caution. 



108 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

Somewhat about half-way between Kynance 
and the Rill is an almost inaccessible cave, which 
was formerly frequented by a desperate gang of 
sheep-stealers. It became generally known in 
the following way : — The lieutenant of the coast- 
guard stationed at Cadgwith received a letter from 
head-quarters directing him to proceed with a 
party of his men and examine a certain cave, the 
exact position of which was described, informa- 
tion having been received that in it was secreted 
a large quantity of smuggled goods. After much 
search the mouth of the cave was discovered, al- 
most concealed by a mass of fallen rock. Here 
the officer produced his letter, and having read it 
to his men, asked who would volunteer to enter 
first. No one replied. The entrance to this 
robbers' den was about two feet in diameter, 
and it was evident that if there were but one re- 
solute fellow within he might, armed only with 
a pen-knife, keep at bay a whole army. The 
officer, a man of dauntless courage, accordingly 
led the way himself, as indeed he had all the 
while intended to do, and was followed by his 



SHEEP-STEALERS' CAVE. 109 

men. The cave, however, was unoccupied, and 
nothing was found but a sheep-skin and some 
scraps of leather, proving that it had been visited 
by a sheep-stealer, and by some one who chose 
to exercise here the business of a shoe-maker. 

The same gentleman afterwards related to me 
this account of his unsuccessful search, and an- 
other narrative connected with the spot, which I 
shall repeat by-and-by» He one day also took 
me to the place. We were obliged to scramble 
down the face of the cliff, which was composed 
principally of large loose stones, affording a very 
insecure footing, and when arrived at the bottom, 
he led me a short distance over the same kind of 
ground, until suddenly stopping, he said, " You 
are now within six feet of the mouth of the cave." 
He then pointed it out to me behind a mass of 
rock, and as I felt no inclination to accept his 
polite offer of going first, he lay down flat, with 
his hands above his head, and wriggled himself 
in. This uncomfortable posture I found, when 
I proceeded to follow him, was quite necessary, 
the aperture being too narrow to allow the arms 



110 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

to remain by the sides, and too low to admit of 
a kneeling posture. After a few feet of this ser- 
pent-like progress, I was enabled to stand up- 
right, and found myself, to my great astonishment, 
in a lofty and extensive cavern, perfectly well- 
lighted by the rays of the sun, which were stream- 
ing in through a narrow fissure extending for 
many feet along the roof of the cave. We found 
no relics of former inhabitants, and I, having 
heard of the desperate character of its late tenants, 
did not care to explore the recesses. When we 
had seen enough we withdrew, assuming the same 
ignoble posture as when we entered, and I felt 
not at all sorry that it wa,s now my turn to go 
first. Since the above visit I have often searched 
for the " Sheep-stealers' cave," but I could never 
discover it, nor, strange to say, have I ever since 
fallen in with any one who either could or would 
direct me to it. 

The bold headland, the Rill, which, while we 
were at Kynance, interrupted our view towards 
the west, commands a glorious view of the Mount's 
Bay, of which, in its widest acceptation, it may 



THE RILL. Ill 

be called the eastern extremity, the western limit 
being the promontory of Tol-pedn-penwith, near 
the famous Logan Rock, and Land's End. St. 
Michael's Mount, situated in a deep recess of the 
bay to which it gives name, is distinctly visible 
if the weather be clear ; and behind it, lines of 
white houses mark the positions of Penzance and 
of the fishing-town of Newlyn, the last place in 
the county in which the Cornish language was 
spoken. 

On the highest part of the Rill is a heap of 
loose uncut stones, called the Apron-string, to 
which the following legend is attached. An evil 
spirit wishing to build a bridge across the channel 
to France, in order that the smugglers might be 
enabled to bring over their goods without sub- 
jecting themselves to the risk of a sea-voyage, 
came hither with an apron-full of stones to 
commence the arduous undertaking. Unfor- 
tunately, however, he miscalculated the strength 
of his apron-strings, one of which broke under the 
weight ; consequently the stones were all thrown 
out, and the architect in despair abandoned the 



112 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

enterprise. No doubt the stones were placed 
here by somebody, and a little examination will 
shew that the lower ones are fixed in the ground 
in the form of a circle. Similar piles may be ob- 
served at Trewavas Head and near the Flag-staff 
at Cadgwith, and are perhaps remains of fire- 
beacons, or some other structures erected at a 
remote period for the purpose of communicating 
intelligence by signals. 

Among the rocks under the Rill is one of the 
stations for the wild asparagus, which here grows 
large and ripens its seeds, as also for the finest 
specimens of the purple gar lick,* a rare and beau- 
tiful species. In order to reach the spot where 
they grow it is necessary to pass by the pile of 
rocks in which the headland terminates, then to 
descend a short way, and to climb along under 
their base. On the last occasion of my collecting 
specimens here, after I had gathered as many as 
I required, I fancied that instead of returning by 
the same way that I had come, the quicker and 
easier course would be to ascend the face of the 

* Allium Sch<Enoprasum. 



THE RILL. 113 

rocks, which did not appear very difficult. Ac- 
cordingly, with a good bundle of specimens in one 
hand, a stick in the other, and a fishing-basket 
containing geological and botanical apparatus 
slung at my back, I began to mount, choosing 
for my path a narrow strip of vegetation, with a* 
wall of rock on either side. Arrived within a few 
feet of the summit, I found that I could not swing 
myself to the top of the last ledge without laying 
down my plants, and freeing myself from the awk- 
ward protuberance at my back. This, therefore, 
I lifted up and deposited on the summit, and pro- 
ceeded by the help of my arms to swing myself 
after. I effected my object without difficulty, 
but, alas ! I unfortunately touched my basket, 
which was barely poised on the topmost stone, and 
away it spun, leaping from point to point, and 
making its way for the sea, at a rate that fishing- 
basket never achieved before. Luckily, however, 
before it reached the water its course was arrested 
by a projecting rock, and I, somewhat more de- 
liberately, s.et out after it. Scarcely had I re- 
gained possession of it when I recollected that 



114 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



my carefully-selected specimens were unconsci- 
ously lying at the top of the cliff, and as I could 
not think of giving them up after the pains they 




Ktnance — from the Rill. 



had cost me, my only plan was to deposit my 
basket at the base of the steep pile of rocks, 
again mount within a yard of the summit, descend 



KYNANCE, FROM THE RILL. * 115 

and return by the way I had come, my companion 
all the while waiting for me, and wondering at 
my insatiable appetite for asparagus and garlick. 

Before we leave this point we must not fail to 
take a last look at Kynance Cove and the Lizard 
Head, for the view from this point does not yield 
to any on the coast. All visitors at Kynance 
should make a great effort to reach the Rill, how- 
ever pressed they maybe for time, and enjoy, even 
for a few minutes only,' the splendid prospects 
which it commands both eastward and westward. 
The Soap Rock is, however, generally considered 
the great point of attraction in this direction, in 
their eagerness to visit which tourists frequently 
neglect the intervening coast, but if they follow 
the edge of the cliff the whole of the way they 
will be richly repaid for their trouble, and that 
without making any great sacrifice of time. 

About half a mile beyond the Rill, a ridge of 
rock runs out into the sea from the verge of the 
cliff, shaped like a saddle and terminating in an 
elevated peak. This is called the Horse. Though 
broad at the base, it tapers to so sharp an edge 



116 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



that to all appearance one might sit astride on it. 
It is far too dangerous to be attempted; for a 
single slip of the foot would be followed by cer- 
tain destruction. I was told that a gentleman 
out of mere recklessness had once attempted to 




THE EOH5 



reach the extremity, but before he had got 
half-way found that he could neither proceed 
nor return, and was consequently obliged to sit 
astride the rock until he was observed and rescued 
by some better climber than himself. A pilot 
from the Isle of Wight lost his life here a few 
years since, while searching for gulls' eggs. Some 



CLIMBING FOR BIRDS. 117 

of the people residing on the coast, who in the 
season partly gain their livelihood by searching 
for the nests of sea-birds, possess extraordinary 
skill and daring in this pursuit. The guides at 
Kynance will ascend the Gull Rock with ease, 
nay, rapidity, and for a trifling remuneration 
bring back eggs or young birds for any one who 
will employ them. If the following anecdote 
be, as I am assured it is, true, one scarcely knows 
whether the imprudence or presence of mind of 
these men is most to be wondered at. 

A gentleman wished to have in his possession 
a living specimen of the chough, or Cornish 
crow, a bird which is now becoming rare, and 
which always builds in the precipitous sides of 
the cliffs. Two brothers engaged to furnish him 
with young birds from the nest. They accord- 
ingly provided themselves with a rope, and pro- 
ceeded to a place which they knew to be frequented 
by these birds. One of them tied an end of the 
rope roimd his waist, and his brother lowered 
him over the edge of the cliff, holding the rope in 
his hand. When he had arrived opposite the 



I 18 a WEEK at rut: LIZARD. 

nests, ho found that they were built under an 
overhanging rock, so as to bo beyond his roach. 
Nothing daunted, ho sot the tope a-swinging 

until ho was carried into the hollow, when ho 
hold Past bv the rock; but finding the rope too 
short to allow him to gain the nest, he untied 
it from his waist, climbed into the cavity, and 

secured his prize, which ho stored away in his 
bosom. Meanwhile the rope had swung- back to 
the perpendicular, and was resting motionless. 
Without hesitation he called otit to his brother 
above, M Stand bv the rope! 1 'ingoing to leap to 
it ! M He did SO ; but the rope, as might have been 
expootod, slipped through his hands, and he tell 
into the sea. The brother felt the jerk, and look- 
ing out over the edge of the cliff, saw him neither 
dashed in piooos nor drowned, but rubbing the 
water from his face, and exclaiming, " Carry un- 
shoes round to the cove, brother John, I'll be 
round as soon as thee wast ! " And so he was, 
and moreover bringing his birds safe with him. 
This perilous adventure is said to have happened 
in the parish of Breage. 



PIGEON HUGO. 119 

The Horse stretches obliquely into the sea, 
and makes, with the mainland on the south, a 
semicircular basin, called the Horse-pond, the 
water in which being very deep has a remark- 
able inky hue. The rocks around, being sheltered 
by the projecting ridge, are profusely covered 
with sea-weed. This is a favourite spot with the 
lobster-catchers, who rarely fail to secure a booty 
here, however unsuccessful they may be else- 
where. 

Leaving the Horse, we soon arrive at, perhaps, 
the most striking of all the minor features of the 
coast. The face of the cliff has been for some 
distance more or less rugged and shelving ; but 
all at once this character is altered : the turf 
above suddenly terminates at the edge of the 
cliff, and by lying down and looking over, we 
find that we are at the top of a perpendicular pre- 
cipice, about 250 feet high, the rock composing 
which is perfectly black, and the base washed at 
all times of tide by the sea. It is of small extent, 
and in shape nearly a half-circle. One might 
imagine that a vast cylinder had descended and 



120 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




Pigeon- Hugo — from the Sea. 



scooped out a piece of the cliff. A black rock 
beneath is generally frequented by a group of 
cormorants, and gulls and jackdaws innumerable 



PIGEON HUGO. 121 

find a safe retreat in its inaccessible walls. One 
may fling over a stone, and before it reaches the 
bottom have plenty of time to lie down, and see 
where it falls, and watch how the whole party of 
sober cormorants drop off into the sea like bullets, 
and disappear. Underneath there is a fine cave, 
Pigeon Hugo, said to be one of the most re- 
markable on the coast. Until within the last 
few years it was accessible from the land by a 
sort of pathway, which wound round the cliff 
some little way off; this has, however, fallen 
away, and it can now be reached only by a boat. 
I have many times contemplated a visit, but the 
landing is very dangerous, and only to be effected 
in the stillest weather, with the wind from the 
east, a combination of circumstances which has 
never fallen in my way. 

A few steps further on, we gain a view of the 
very remarkable cove, Gue Graze, as it is marked 
in the maps, or, as it is called by the people of 
the neighbourhood, Due Greze ; in the ravine 
leading down to which is the Soap Rock. When 
I last visited this spot the day was an exceed- 



122 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

ing bright one in the beginning of July, the 
sun intensely hot, and scarcely a breath of air 




G-UE GRAZE. 



stirring. A long bank of fog had been for some 
hours stretching away in the extreme distance, 
but seemingly making no attempt to approach 
us. By the time, however, that we had reached 



GUE GRAZE COVE. 123 

the spot from which the annexed view is taken, 
the fog had lost its roll-of-lead character, and 
seemed endowed with a fantastic life : the part 
nearest to us appeared broken, and portions 
floated lazily along the bosom of the deep. Now, 
the whole sea w T as so far hid from our sight by 
a misty veil, that an occasional irregular dash 
of sparkling water alone betrayed what lay be- 
neath ; then, we might have fancied ourselves 
elevated miles into the air, and looking down 
from our airy post on the fleecy summer clouds. 
Now, portions of the mist would suddenly, yet un- 
expectedly, melt, and we should see the clear blue 
water at our feet — a little way beyond, a wreath of 
thin vapour — then another strip of glittering sea, 
revealing for a few seconds a tiny fishing-boat — 
beyond, a dense band of fog — yet further, a thin 
line of sparkling water, brilliant as a sun-beam, 
and beyond all, the grey Land's End cliffs, barred 
with narrow strips of shifting mist, like the lines 
of cloud w^hich we sometimes see across the face 
of the setting sun. No vapour ascended to the 
spot on which we stood, nor were the crags on 



124 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

the opposite side of the cove at any time ob- 
scured. Only a light cloud of mist occasionally 
rolled in to the base, hiding the sea from view 
as well as the lower parts of the insulated rocks, 
the peaks of the latter emerging through it with 
remarkable distinctness. But what was most sin- 
gular, was this : that, although the mist was con- 
stantly rolling up the cliff, it never reached the 
top ; for when it was a little more than half-way 
up, it grew more and more transparent, until it 
disappeared ; the reason evidently being, that the 
heat radiated from the sun-burnt rocks had raised 
the temperature of the air in their vicinity so 
much above that of the air which lay on the 
water, that the moisture which was condensed in 
the latter was rarified and became invisible the 
instant that it reached the warmer medium. 
The reverse of this is observed when a clear 
atmosphere is borne against the cold summit of 
a lofty mountain ; in this latter case, the earth 
being colder than the air around causes a sudden 
condensation of the vapour which it contains, 
and produces the appearance of a fixed cloud, 



THE SOAP-ROCK. 125 

though a high wind may be blowing all the 
while. 

The Soap-rock is situated in a deep ravine 
which runs down to this cove ; it was formerly 
quarried, and large quantities of steatite, or 
soap-stone, were carried away and employed in 
the manufacture of the finer kinds of porcelain. 
Of late years, a material, equally well adapted 
for the purpose, has been obtained from the 
decomposed felspar, which is found in great 
abundance near St. Austle, and as this can be 
procured at a much less expense, the use of 
soap-stone has been discontinued. The only eco- 
nomical purpose to which the minerals of the 
district are applied, is to the manufacture of 
Epsom salts, for which a cargo is occasionally 
exported. 

Gue Graze is connected in a melancholy way 
with the last deed of daring perpetrated by the 
robbers who formerly frequented the Sheep-steal- 
ers' Cave near Kynance, described above. A shoe- 
maker, residing at the Lizard-Town, had lost a 
quantity of leather, which he supposed to have 



126 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

been stolen, though he could discover no clue 
to the offenders. About the same time, a sheep 
was stolen from a farmer living at Helston ; and 
constables, being set upon the track, traced the 
two men, brothers, who were supposed to have 
stolen it, to the Lizard-Town, where they 
took up their quarters. Whether any private 
hint was conveyed to them, or whether they 
were led by their own sagacity to form the 
conjecture, they suspected that the thieves were 
secreted in the neighbourhood, and supplied with 
provisions by their friends. This turned out to 
be the case ; but by increased watchfulness, they 
defeated this plan, and intercepted the provisions, 
until the men were compelled by hunger to 
appear near the village. The constables who 
were on the watch gave them chase, and cut 
them off from their retreat. Being hotly pur- 
sued across the Lizard Downs, they made for 
Grue Graze, where no doubt they hoped to secrete 
themselves, but were so closely pressed, that 
they could only dash into the water and swim 
for their lives, in the forlorn hope, it is sup- 



SHEEP-STEALERS. 127 

posed, of gaining their old haunt. Their pur- 
suers had nothing to do but stand still and 
watch them, and that task was not a protracted 
one. They soon saw one of the fugitives, who 
was still swimming outwards, sink ; the other 
then turned, and attempted to swim back, but 
he had become so exhausted that he too sank 
before he had returned many yards. The cir- 
cumstances connected with this sad affair are 
well known in the neighbourhood, and as it hap- 
pened less than thirty years ago, there are many 
persons yet alive who were acquainted with the 
parties concerned in it. The cave was of course 
well known to the rest of the gang before this 
event ; but it was not until afterwards that peo- 
ple generally were aware of its existence. Some 
fishermen, it is said, who were passing by in 
their boat saw a fox disappear in a mysterious 
manner, and had the curiosity to land and see 
what had become of it. Discovering the narrow 
entrance to the cave, they went in and found 
parings of the leather stolen from the village, 
some sheep-skins, and a quantity of mutton 



128 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

bones, which gave conclusive evidence of the 
character of its late occupants. 

Two men, supposed to be connected with the 
same gang, some years previously to this, lived 
in a rude cabin near the Dry Tree on Goon- 
hilly Downs. They happened to hear that a 
certain farmer would return from Heist on one 
market-day, having on his person a consider- 
able sum of money, and waylaid him in a 
lonely part of the road leading to Mullion. 
Just at the time that they expected their vic- 
tim, some one passed by on horseback, at whom 
they fired, but missed their mark. Shortly 
afterwards, the real victim rode up ; one of 
them fired again, the shot took effect, but it 
was not without some resistance that he was 
dragged from his horse. The villains made off, 
secure, as they thought, from detection. The 
wounded man, however, was found soon after, 
and conveyed to a neighbouring house, where he 
expired the same night, but not before he had 
made deposition, that he did not know the persons 
of his murderers, but that his horse had stepped 



SHEEP-STEALERS. 129 

on the foot of one of them in the struggle. This 
simple circumstance led to their discovery ; they 
were apprehended, and forfeited their lives on 
the scaffold. But a truce to these tales of 
horror, or my readers will be afraid to stay out 
the week with me; so, I will change my subject 
at once, and relate a story of an entirely different 
kind, namely, my first botanical adventure in 
Cornwall. 

On the 24th of August, 1831, I happened to 
be residing in Helston, and having heard a great 
deal of the beauty of the scenery of Kynance 
Cove, and of the rare plants which grew on the 
rocks there, I determined to see for myself whe- 
ther the accounts which I had heard were true. 
Accordingly, without companion or guide, I start- 
ed at eight o'clock in the morning, on what 
proved to be my perilous expedition. The wea- 
ther was unpropitious ; there was a good deal of 
wind stirring, and rain seemed to be impending. 
The rare occurrence of a holiday, however, and 
the hope of gathering with my own hands, from 
their native haunts, a number of plants which I 

K 



130 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

had only heard of, or seen in the herbariums of 
the curious, encouraged me to proceed in spite 
of all adverse circumstances. My equipment 
consisted of a walking-stick, a folio book for 
drying specimens in, (which was slung over my 
back,) a packet of sandwiches, and a small flask 
of brandy. Why I am thus particular in my in- 
ventory will appear by-and-by. After loitering 
by the way to collect and examine specimens of 
several plants then new to me, I found myself 
about mid-day drawing near the coast. The first 
point that I arrived at was the head of a valley, 
which appeared to answer the description I had 
received of Kynance, and making my way down 
with what speed I could, I soon found myself in 
the cove, as I imagined, though, as I afterwards 
found, it was in reality Gue Graze, the cove be- 
fore us. The tide was out, as I expected ; I ac- 
cordingly began at once to explore for Asparagus 
Island, which, with the imperfect description I 
had received, I had no difficulty in recognising in 
a high detached rock to the right of the cove, the 
top of which was covered with vegetation. I soon 



A BOTANICAL ADVENTURE. 131 

climbed to the summit in search of asparagus, 
but failed, for the simple reason that it does not 
grow there. I was, however, well pleased to disco- 
ver the tree-mallow, which I had never before seen 
growing wild. A few specimens of this I secured 
and laid out in my book to dry. All this occu- 
pied some time, and on my descent I found that 
the tide had begun to flow, and that my retreat 
to the cove was cut off, unless I chose to wade 
through the water to the depth of about a foot. 
I quietly took a survey of the cliff, and seeing that 
it was (as I imagined) easy of ascent, I thought I 
need not be in a hurry, but might as well rest 
myself after my eleven miles' walk, and discuss my 
sandwiches. This done, I began to mount the cliff, 
and at first made a rapid progress, there being 
plenty of grass as a holdfast for my hands, and of 
loose stones among which to insert my feet. But 
when I had ascended some sixty feet, I found my- 
self stopped by a slanting sheet of polished ser- 
pentine, on which I could gain no footing, though 
I made several attempts. I accordingly descended 
with the intention of making a trial somewhere 



132 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

else, and proceeded yet further to the right. But 
here I found myself entirely at fault, the sea 
having come in to the very base of the rocks, 
which were perpendicular. My only alternative 
was to turn back and regain the cove by wading 
through the water. I found, however, that I 
had spent so much time in my ineffectual effort to 
scale the cliff, that the tide had risen considerably, 
and I could not now attempt to ford a passage 
without incurring great danger, and reluctantly 
came to the conclusion that I was in an awkward 
predicament. The tide had still four hours to flow, 
so that I should of course be detained ten or ele- 
ven hours. To add to my discomfort, it seemed 
to be on the point of raining ; and recollecting 
with what difficulty I had found my way out by 
daylight I could not lose sight of the fact that it 
would be yet more difficult to find my way home 
by night. Yet I had nothing to do but to sit still 
and wait, a task which I tried very hard to per- 
form, and took from my pocket Johnson's " Ras- 
selas," in the hope of whiling away the time. I 
soon found that the " History of a search after 



A BOTANICAL ADVENTURE. 133 

happiness" was little suited to the frame of mind 
to which I was then subjected, and quickly shut 
my book. As for sitting idle, it was quite out of 
the question ; so, I again climbed the island to 
explore, but discovered nothing to justify the hope 
of improving my condition. The only point 
where there appeared the least probability of the 
ascent being made by a human being was that 
which I had tried and found impracticable. I 
again descended, scrambled over the rocks to the 
right and left as far as the tide would allow me, 
sat down and endeavoured to compose my mind. 
Danger there was none, the island being large 
enough to afford refuge to a hundred men, and 
I knew very well, from the character of the ve- 
getation on the summit of the rock, that it was 
never swept by the sea, even in the stormiest 
weather. An hour and a half I spent in this 
way, and at last, in spite of all my efforts, had 
worked myself up to such a pitch of excitement, 
by picturing to myself the misery of sitting ten 
or eleven hours in the rain, climbing over the 
rocks in the dark, and finally groping my way 



134 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

over an unknown country, with whatever vigour 
of body and mind that I had possessed exhausted, 
that I resolved to make a fresh attempt where 
I had before been unsuccessful. I recollected, 
that when I made the first trial, I thought there 
were many other ways of ascending, and that I 
might therefore have been deterred by difficulties 
which in my present emergency would not seem 
so formidable. I accordingly began the ascent a 
second time, and in a bolder spirit. When I 
reached the shelving mass of rock mentioned 
above, I stopped to take breath, and to meditate 
once more whether the personal inconvenience of 
spending the night on the spot, and the anxious 
suspense which my absence would occasion my 
friends, were sufficient to weigh against the risk 
I might incur in persisting in my attempt. I 
had all but decided on returning, when I ob- 
served a small stone in a crack of the rock, which 
appeared to be loose ; this I removed, and thus 
obtained one footstep, but not being satisfied with 
my precarious footing, resolved on desisting at 
once. To my utter horror I found this to be im- 



A BOTANICAL ADVENTURE. 135 

practicable. The book which I had slung across 
my back so impeded my movements, that when I 
attempted to turn, the corner pressed against the 
cliff and forced me outwards, and had I persisted, 
would inevitably have precipitated me to the 
bottom. I could not retain my posture for any 
length of time, resting as I was on one foot, and 
being obliged to hold fast with one hand in order 
to do even that : my only alternative was to pro- 
ceed, but whither, I knew not. By occasionally 
making use of my stick to loosen some stones, 
and to try the strength of others, which frequently 
peeled off from the rock with a very slight pres- 
sure, I contrived to approach within eight or nine 
feet of the top. Here, however, I found myself 
in a situation in which few I believe have ever 
been placed, except in the most terrific dreams. 
I had gradually quitted that part of the rock 
which hung over the sloping grass ; I had in- 
serted the end of my stick in a crevice, and, 
being obliged to use both hands in clinging to 
the rock, I could not draw it out, and if my foot 
had slipped I should have glided over a few 



136 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

feet of smooth stone, and then fallen seventy or 
eighty feet, whether into the sea, or on the shore, 
I could not turn my head to examine. To add 
to my distress I found my book much in my way ; 
I was supported almost entirely by the muscular 
strength of my fingers, and a mass of apparently 
loose stones projected over my head. These I 
must surmount ; but how ? The only possible 
support for my feet was six feet below the sum- 
mit of the rock, and not more than half an inch 
wide. I managed with great difficulty to set 
my foot on this, snatched at, and caught hold 
of, the top of the rock with the ends of my 
fingers, and was suspended as it were between 
heaven and earth directly over the precipice, when 
— the ledge under my feet gave way, or my foot 
slipped (terror prevented me from observing 
which) — with strength more than natural I clung 
by my hands alone — I felt a shudder pass through 
my frame — my blood seemed to stagnate— and a 
spontaneous agitation of all the nerves in my 
body commenced, so violent, that this new horror 
now took possession of me, that the involuntary 



A BOTANICAL ADVENTURE. 137 

motion of my hands might loosen my hold. 
During what appeared to me a long time, but 
what I dare say was, in reality, less time than 
my readers take in following my description, was 
I in this state, dangling my feet on every side in 
search of a resting place, and dreading lest the 
stones to which I clung with my fingers should 
give way. Feeling that I could hold no longer 
by my fingers, I made a violent effort, and 
planted my knee, I know not how, just below 
my hands ; still I was not safe — I was now 
balanced on my hands and one knee on the edge 
of a cliff — one leg was still hanging over, idle — 
and my book, which I had not had the means of 
getting rid of, had slipped round in front, and 
inserted itself between my body and the rock. 
By dint of another effort, however, I contrived 
to throw myself forward, and was safe ! But, 
alas, I had not yet reached the top, I was 
scarcely half-way up ; but I was resting at full 
length on a plot of green turf — the scene of as 
earnest thanksgiving as had ever been poured 
forth from my heart — and though I was for 



138 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




some time in such a state of nervous excitement 
that I dared not look down, much less venture 
to move, yet the consciousness of imminent dan- 
ger was gone, and with it all anxiety. Still my 
limbs were in a trembling state, my tongue was 
glued to my palate, and though I tried to swallow 



A BOTANICAL ADVENTURE. 139 

a little brandy, my throat refused to perform its 
office ; all that I could do was to rinse out my 
mouth, and to long, as earnestly as a traveller in 
the desert, for a draught of water that I might do 
so effectually. I had not even yet accomplished all 
my task ; a large portion of cliff still remained 
to be surmounted, scarcely, if at all, less preci- 
pitous than that which I had traversed. I was 
resolved, however, to run no more risk, and sat 
down calculating the probabilities of my being 
seen and rescued on the next day by a large 
party, who I knew were coming hither for a day's 
enjoyment from Helston. After resting a little 
while, though I had not yet mustered sufficient 
nerve to look down, I began to explore my posi- 
tion, and saw behind me a low, but steep rock 
which not being very difficult I ascended, and 
to my infinite joy discovered just before me a 
pathway worn by human feet, leading by a cir- 
cuitous route from some part of the coast now 
covered by the sea to the summit of the cliff. It 
may readily be supposed that I was not long 
in reaching this. I ran, as well as the nature 



140 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

of the ground would permit, and soon reached 
the top ; and now that I once more had the 
power of walking on level ground, all that I had 
before experienced seemed a dream ; but the 
roaring of the waves beneath me, which I dared 
not, even then, look down upon ; the quivering 
of my limbs, and, above all, the tears of grate- 
ful emotion which involuntarily rose to my eyes, 
soon convinced me of the reality of my situation, 
and of my perilous expedition. 

A short time after I had left the coast it began 
to rain, and continued till I reached home, be- 
tween six and seven o'clock, drenched to the 
skin. 

The above narrative I committed to writing the 
day after my adventure, and I believe it to be the 
reverse of an exaggerated account. I have, since, 
several times tried to discover the precise spot, 
but have never been able ; not because I do not, 
even now, retain a distinct recollection of the 
scene, but because, on all parts of this coast where 
the structure of the rock is not unusually com- 
pact, a continual change is going on by the wear- 



ADVICE TO CLIMBERS. 141 

ing away of the surface, and by the fall of large 
masses ; and, to tell the truth, I am so little de- 
sirous of a repetition of the feat, .that I have been 
very careful not to tarry long enough in the vi- 
cinity to make a full examination, lest I should 
find my retreat again cut off. 

A word of advice to climbers. It is much more 
difficult to descend than to ascend the face of a 
precipitous cliff, and, therefore, less dangerous; 
and again, it is much easier to ascend a place of 
the same character than to descend, and, there- 
fore, more dangerous. This will appear to be a 
paradox, and, on that account, it will, I hope, be 
remembered ; but, nevertheless, experience will 
prove that the maxim is a sound one. A climber 
in descending instinctively shrinks from climbing 
down any places, where his body would be likely 
to be thrown off its balance, unless he can secure 
firm footing and a good holdfast for his hands ; 
and if he reaches a spot which is impracticable, 
he can make sure of being able to return by the 
way he came. On the other hand, in ascending, 
his body is thrown forward, he can see the nature 



142 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

of the rock which he is climbing, and has a far 
greater command over his hands and feet ; in ad- 
dition to which he is not likely to become giddy, 
for there is no necessity for him to look down. 
But if he arrives, after some laborious climbing, 
at an impracticable spot, and wishes to return, he 
may be called on to traverse a dangerous piece of 
ground, which he scarcely noticed during his as- 
cent, a sloping, smooth rock for instance, or of 
slippery turf, where, if he loses his balance, or 
his foot slips, the result must be most perilous. 
As a deduction from this, let him also bear in 
mind, that when a descent has been made with much 
difficulty, he had better return by the same route, 
rather than attempt another which only appears 
to be easier. He may be tolerably certain that 
where he got down, he can get up ; but if he 
tries the new route, he may be brought up by 
some difficulty which he could not descry from 
beneath, and be compelled to return by a yet 
more perilous way than the first, and, after all, 
expend his labour in vain. 



143 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Balk. — Ravens' Hugo. — Dolor Hugo. — The Frying-pan. — Cadg- 
ivith. — Saint Bumon. — Conflict between a man and a conger. — Sun- 
fish. — Ynys-head. — Poltesco. — Kennack Cove. — Ground seine. — 
Sting-fish^ Bed Mullet, TurboL — Blackhead. 

Resuming our survey of the coast at Pen- 
voose, it becomes necessary that we should take 
boat, in order to explore the most interesting 
objects which here present themselves. The ex- 
pedition is attended with no danger, provided that 
the sea be quite calm : otherwise, it is so peril- 
ous as to be impracticable. The fishermen, in- 
deed, proceed to sea when the weather is very 
stormy, but their occupation takes them to a 
distance from the cliff, w^hereas, our track lies 
along the base of the cliff; and in order to see 
to advantage the natural curiosities of this por- 
tion of the coast, we must approach to within a 
few feet of the rocks, or even land on them. 



144 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

Proceeding in a south-easterly direction, we 
pass under the Balk, a lofty cliff which termi- 
nates in a peaked mass of rock, and the face of 
which is precipitous from the falling away of the 
loose stone, A winding path on either side leads 
down to a sandy cove, and here maybe found some 
of the most beautiful varieties of serpentine, spotted 
with bright red and spangles of diallage. Stone 
of the same character runs inland to a consider- 
able distance, and frequently crops out to the 
surface. Masses have been taken from hence, and 
made into pillars, chimney-pieces, &c, for which 
purposes it is well adapted, from its not being so 
liable to crack as some of the other varieties. 

One cannot go more than a few yards in 
this direction, without opening on a fresh view, 
so indented are the cliffs, and so fantastic the 
rocks. Under Carn-barrow, a projecting rock 
makes a natural archway, through which a boat 
may be taken with safety if the sea be calm. 
A little further on is Ravens' Hugo, situated 
in a narrow recess. This is not an imposing cave, 
but is pointed out by the coast-guard men as 



RAVENS' HUGO. 145 

worthy of note from the fact that a large num- 
ber of kegs of contraband spirit were once dis- 
covered in it. The landing is difficult, and 
is effected on a rock, the substance of which 
closely resembles lava, and thus affords to the 
geologist strong indication of the volcanic origin 
of the district. The entrance into the cave is 
narrow, and is scarcely washed by the sea, as is 
evident from the luxuriant sea-ferns* hanging 
like tapestry round the orifice. The boatman 
told us that a party were once landing here, when 
a fine young man, a sailor, slipped from the 
rock, and though his companions used the great- 
est efforts to rescue him, he was drowned almost, 
one may say, within their hands. At a con- 
siderable height above the mouth of the cave 
is a niche in the rock, such as, in artificial 
edifices, images stand in. Here from time imme- 
morial a pair of ravens have annually built their 
nest and reared their young : from this circum- 
stance the hugo, or cave, takes its name. 

At no great distance beyond the Ravens' Hugo 

* Asplenium marinum. 



146 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

is a cave, the lower part of which is entered by 
the sea at all times of tide ; it is therefore only 
accessible by a boat, and not even thus, except 
when the water is quite still. The usual method 
is to back the boat, the men sitting at their oars, 
and prepared to pull out again with all speed, in 
case a wave should suddenly roll in. It is 
marked in the maps Dolor Hugo ; but the name 
is pronounced Dollah Hugo. Of all the caves 
that I have ever inspected, this wears the most 
perfect air of mysteriousness and solemnity. 
At the entrance it is large enough to admit a 
six-oared boat, but soon contracts to so small a 
size that a swimmer alone could explore it, al- 
though no one, so far as I have heard, ever ven- 
tured to perform the feat. Its termination is 
lost in gloom, but as far as the eye can discrimi- 
nate, the water is unceasingly rising and falling 
with a deep murmuring sound, which is reverbe- 
rated from a great distance, and falls on the ear 
with a most imposing effect. The colouring of 
the rocks at the entrance is magnificent. The 
base is of a deep rose-pink ; the sides rich dark- 




DOLOR HUGO. 



148 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

brown, with blotches of bright green and rose 
colour ; the roof purple and brown. The water 
is very deep and of a fine olive-green, and, 
being remarkably clear, the light stones lying at 
the bottom are distinctly visible, among which, 
at my last visit, we could descry great fishes, 
probably bass, pursuing shoals of launces. The 
accompanying sketch, hastily taken on the spot, 
gives a far better idea of the cave than I could 
have supposed possible without the aid of colour- 
ing. When tourists venture in hither, which is 
not very often the case, a favourite practical joke 
of the boatmen is, to secrete a loaded pistol, and 
without giving previous intimation, to fire it off. 
The effect is terrific ; the noise seeming to come 
from the inmost recesses of the cave, from its 
sides and roof, all at once, and exaggerated a 
thousand-fold by the reverberation. Any one, 
thus taken by surprise, could scarcely account 
for the sudden and protracted roar on any 
other supposition than that the whole line of 
cliff was visited by some momentous convul- 
sion of nature, and was tumbling into ruins. 



THE FRYING-PAN. 149 

To a person forewarned, the uproar resembles a 
terrific thunder-clap bursting about his head. 

Proceeding yet a short way further towards 
the north-west, our useful little boat is abruptly 
turned towards the cliff, and we pass under a 
natural archway of party-coloured rock, and 
quietly land on the most singular beach existing 
on this, or perhaps any other coast. From the 
circumference of a circular bed of shingle and 
pebbles, rises a shelving funnel-shaped cliff, 
naked below, but clothed above with a luxuriant 
vegetation. Its depth is two hundred feet, and 
the area of the rim of the cavity nearly two 
acres ; the diameter of the beach at the bottom 
being probably (I neglected to take the exact 
measurement) sixty feet. Seen either from above 
or below, it is a most remarkable object. The 
predominant hue of the shelving rocks near the 
base is bluish pink, and here may be collected 
very fine specimens of asbestos.* The vegeta- 
tion above comprises, among other plants, the 

* Asbestos : this mineral is distinguished by its fibrous structure ; 
in some of the varieties, the fibres are so delicately fine, and so 



150 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

sea-radish* and yellow vetch ;f and about two- 
thirds of the way up, there is a portion of a 
hedge, which at some distant period, slipped 
down bodily from above, bearing some tolerably 
fine specimens of tamarisk, a tree which flou- 
rishes on the adjoining estate. 

This cavity is well-known in the neighbour- 
hood by the name of the Frying-pan, though its 
existence is scarcely known to tourists. Its for- 
mation may, I conceive, be well accounted for by 
reference to what has been remarked respecting 
the Lions' Den in a previous chapter. The arch- 
flexible, as to resemble flax or silk ; hence they were woven by the 
ancients into cloth, which, being incombustible, was sometimes made 
use of to enfold the bodies of the dead, before they were placed 
on the funeral pile, and preserve their ashes. In the manufacture 
of this mineral into cloth, the filaments were mixed with those of 
flax, and formed into threads and woven. The cloth was rendered 
pure by fire, the flax being burned out. The name is of Greek origin, 
and signifies " incombustible." A fourth part of its substance is 
magnesia. In modern times it has been made into paper, but 
being rigid and fragile, the only superiority which it has over common 
paper is, that when thrown into the fire, any writing on it disappears. 
In Russia, gloves are still said to be made of it. 

* Raphanus maritimus, t Vicia lutea. 



152 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

way, represented in the cut, was formerly the 
mouth of a cave, having, before that, been the 
extremity of a lode of soft rock, which, in process 
of time, crumbling away, gave admission to the 
sea, and formed a cavern. The roof of the cavern, 
with the exception of the part just above the en- 
trance, was composed of a soft, loose stone, and 
being unable to bear up the superincumbent 
weight, fell in, bringing with it the soil which it 
supported. The fallen mass at first perhaps filled 
up the mouth of the cave, but for no long period. 
The flowing and ebbing tide by degrees washed 
out the loose soil, and hastened the work of de- 
composition. In this stage of its existence it re- 
sembled what the Lions' Den now is — a deep hole 
with perpendicular walls. Every spring shower 
washed down a portion of soil which the preceding 
winter's frost had loosened ; the detritus was 
forthwith washed away, and made room for a 
fresh accumulation ; and this process was inces- 
santly being repeated, until the sides of the 
cavity exchanged the perpendicular for a slop- 
ing character, the base during the whole period 



VILLAGE OF CADGWITH. 153 

having scarcely altered its dimensions. Geologi- 
cal speculations, for the most part, rest on a 
very unsubstantial foundation ; but if this be 
not correct, I can form no other conjecture. It 
does not often happen, that even the most ex- 
perienced geologists have the opportunity of re- 
ferring to such evidence for the confirmation 
of their theories as is afforded by Lions' Den, 
caught as it was, in the very act of formation, 
and watched during at least two steps of its 
progress. 

The romantic fishing-village of Cadgwith is sit- 
uated at the termination of an exceedingly pretty 
valley, which runs down from Ruan-minor Church- 
toivn, and is sheltered on either side by steep 
hills. The descent on the south passes very near 
the edge of the Frying-pan, which nevertheless 
is so hidden by hedges of tamarisk that it re- 
quires to be searched for, as it cannot be seen from, 
the road. Cadgwith belongs partly to the parish 
above named, and partly to Grade. Grade-church 
is about half-way between Landewednack and 
Ruan-minor. Ruan -major is more inland, and 



154 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

further to the north, being easily distinguished 
by its being surrounded by trees. 

These four parishes were anciently included in 
one, and called Saint Rumon. This saint and bi- 
shop of Cornwall, who probably lived in the ninth 
or tenth century, appears to have been one of the 
many saints who came over from Ireland into Corn- 
wall, in order to court, in our valleys and upon our 
shores, that heavenly contemplation to which they 
had solemnly devoted their lives, and from which 
they were apprehensive of being drawn away, by 
the solicitations of their friends near them. St. 
Rumon chose his retreat in the Nemaean Wood 
in Cornwall, which was formerly very full of wild 
beasts, and here made himself an oratory. The 
precise situation of the Nemaean Wood is not 
given by his biographer, but being stated to 
be near Falmouth, is supposed, by Whitaker, to 
have occupied the peninsulated ground which 
terminates in the Lizard. Near the church of 
St. Grade is an estate which is known from tra- 
dition to have been the particular residence of 
Saint Rumon, and is therefore denominated St. 



ST. RUAN. 155 

Ruan at present ; both the Ruans, Major and 
Minor, are also, in the " Valor of Pope Nicholas," 
denominated expressly " the Church of St. Ru- 
mon." Here, then, though all traces of the name 
have now vanished, was the Nemaean Wood of 
Cornwall, spreading all over the broad back of the 
peninsula,* defying by its combined powers all 
the blasts that now sweep this region with so 
much violence, and affording warm shelter for 

* The present desolate condition of Goonhilly Downs must not be 
considered conclusive evidence that they were at no time covered with 
wood nor frequented by wild animals. In other parts of the coun- 
ty, now equally unproductive of trees, appearances have been dis- 
covered indicative of a period when forest scenery was not unknown. 
In the year 1740, many large pieces of unknown timber were dug up 
near Hayle, in such a position that they must have grown near the 
place where they were discovered. A few years later, an oak tree, 
furnished with branches and leaves, was found at the depth of thirty 
feet beneath the surface, in the parish of Sennen. Near the same 
spot were discovered many horns, teeth, &c, of large deer. Parts 
of the strand between Penzance and St. Michael's Mount present 
indications of a forest of oak, willow, and hazel, the stumps 
of which firmly rooted in the soil were only a few years since dis- 
tinctly visible at low- water ; the ancient name of St. Michael's 
Mount was "Carick luze in Coos," or, "the hoar rock in the 
wood." 



156 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

beast or man in the interior of it. Here, there- 
fore, was the oratory of St. Rumon, within the 
thickets of the Nemaean Wood. The thickets, 
however, had been cleared of the wild beasts, 
when the biographer (Leland) wrote the life of 
the saint, and the site at present only partially 
retains any of its original wildness. This part 
is Leland's " wyld moore, cawled Gunhilly, 
i. e. Hilly Hethe; wher ys brood of catyle." 
This is a tract of land near three miles across, 
chiefly consisting of a loamy soil, but bearing 
not even copse-wood at present ; on which those 
little horses of Cornwall used formerly to be 
bred, the memory of whom is still preserved 
in the remembered appellation of Gunhilles, 
and close to which the church of St. Grade 
has a portion of its parish now. " There is a 
kinde of nagge," says Norden, " bred upon a 
mountanous and spatious peece of grounde, 
called Goon-hillye, lyinge betweene the sea 
coaste and Helston ; which are the hardeste 
naggs and beste of travaile for their bones 
within this kingdome, resembling in body for 



ST. ruan's well. 157 

quantitie, and in goodnes of mettle, the Galloway 
naggs."* 

" Here, near to the site of St. Grade's Church, 
at the village still denominated St. Ruan from 
the fact, did St. Rum on live, having a cell for his 
habitation, and a chapel for his devotions, re- 
gardless of the wild beasts around him, seeing 
them, perhaps, in his walks, hearing them, per- 
haps, in his prayers, yet beholding them probably 
to flee the face of this strange intruder on their 
privacies. About a quarter of a mile to the 
north-east of Grade Church is a noted well, from 
which is fetched all the water used in baptism at 
the church. It is walled up at the back and sides 
with dense black iron-stones (serpentine) ; but the 
front, and particularly the arched entrance, is com- 
posed of coarse granite. The water, which is always 
up to the brim of the basin, is very fine and pellu- 
cid, and remarkably cold in summer. Hence St. 

* A strong, punch and spirited horse is, with us, generally called a 
Goonhilly, from a wild downs of that name, (stretching almost from 
Helston to the Lizherd Point,) anciently famous for such little horses. 
— Borlase, 



158 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




^ 



ST. rtjan's well. 



Rumon must have been taken in order to be made 
a bishop ; but he soon probably returned from 
his palace of St. German's, and resettled in his 
hermitage at St. lluan. He certainly died at his 
cell, was buried in his oratory, and then became 
sainted by the reverence of the country adjoin- 
ing. His oratory thus expanded into a church 
at some distance, his wood was formed into a 



ST. RUMON. 159 

parish, and the wild beasts were dislodged to 
make room for human habitations. Yet his relics 
were preserved with religious attention at his own 
hermitage-chapel, and his name was fixed with 
religious veneration to it. The place took the 
name of St. Ruan, as the parish-church took the 
equal appellation of Ruan. But when Ordulph, 
Duke of Cornwall and Devonshire, under the Saxon 
sovereigns, in 961, erected a monastery at Ta- 
vistock, he was so struck with their reverence for 
Rumon's name, Rumon's relics, and Rumon's 
memory, that he took up the bones of the saint, 
and transferred them to his new monastery. 
There the saint was buried in pomp, with the 
ensigns of his episcopal dignity upon his monu- 
ment, and with the tradition of his saintship at- 
tached to it. There, as William of Worcester 
additionally informs us, " Saint Ramon, a bishop, 
an Irishman, lies in a shrine within the abbey 
church of Tavystoke, between the quire and St. 
Mary's Chapel." And there also his life was 
written, from such memorials as then remained of 
him at St. Ruan, after a lapse of years so great 



160 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

that his biographer says his wood was formerly 
very full of wild beasts, and thus uses a language 
which throws us back two or three hundred years 
in time, even nearly to the commencement of our 
Cornish see. Thus should Rumon come in, one 
of the very first bishops of Cornwall, and long 
prior to any of the Saxon prelates."* 

In Ruan-major is the old manor-house of Eri- 
sey, formerly the property of a family of the 
same name now extinct. " One of these Eriseys, 
dancing with other gentlemen and ladies at White- 
hall, before King James I., through the violent 
motion and action of his body in the middle of 
the dance, had his cap slip from his head and fall 
to the ground, but he instantly with his foot 
tossed it on his head again, and proceeded with- 
out let or hindrance with his part in that dance, 
to the admiration of all that saw it, which gave oc- 
casion to King James to inquire who that active 
gentleman was, and being told that his name was 
Erisey, he forthwith replied, ' I like the gentleman 
very well, but not his name of Heresy ! ' ' 
* Whitaker's " Ancient Cathedral of Cornwall," chapter vi. § iv. 



INCIDENT WITH A CONGER. 161 

Little interest attaches to any of these churches 
(except Landewednack, already mentioned) be- 
yond that which a country church ordinarily 
claims ; therefore, as the inland country is for the 
most part flat and unvaried, we may return at once 
to the coast. 

The population of Cadgwith is composed prin- 
cipally of fishermen, to whom may be added the 
greater part of the preventive-men belonging to 
the station. Many of these last spend a con- 
siderable part of their leisure-time in polishing 
specimens of serpentine, and as in the discharge 
of their duty they are obliged to perambulate 
the whole of the coast, they frequently fall in 
with the rarer and more beautiful varieties. 

One is not likely to meet with much incident 
here worthy of being recorded, or to gain much 
information, except on subjects connected with 
the fisheries. An incident of the latter class, 
indeed, occurred last autumn, which will well 
bear repetition. A man was fishing at anchor, 
and hooked a very large conger, which with some 
little difficulty he hauled into the boat. No sooner 

M 



162 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

did the huge monster find himself fairly out of 
his element, than he seized the astonished fisher- 
man by the throat with his sharp teeth, and wound 
himself, boa-constrictor-fashion, round his body. 
Fortunately the man did not lose his presence of 
mind ; so, seizing his knife, he stuck it into the 
creature's spine just below the head, when it re- 
laxed its hold and fell dead. We read some- 
times of formidable conflicts between men and 
fish, when the latter have the advantage of being 
in their native element ; but such encounters in 
the air are very uncommon. We cannot suppose 
in this instance that the fish was taught by any 
instinct to seize the throat of the man, but merely 
that it flung itself about in its struggles to escape, 
and fastened itself on the first object that it en- 
countered. 

Last summer, too, a boat returning from a 
night's fishing, fell in with a large sun-fish, which 
lay basking on the surface of the water, and the 
crew secured it with a boat-hook. Being too large 
to be lifted in, it was taken in tow, brought to 
shore, and cut up as bait for the crab-pots. It 



THE SUN-FISH. 163 

weighed several hundred weight. After all the 
trouble, however, that was expended upon it, it 
proved to be of little value. The flesh resem- 




THS SUN-FISH. 



bled the fat of bacon in appearance, but was so 
hard that it required a very sharp knife to make 
any impression on it. Consequently, the crabbers 
finding it impossible to pierce it with the pointed 



164 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

sticks with which they fasten the bait to the pots, 
threw it away. All that I saw of the fish was a 
piece which I found floating off the Lizard, hav- 
ing been thrown over by the fishermen. I fancied 
at first that my prize was a piece of bacon, fallen 
overboard from some vessel ; but the very rough 
shagreen-like skin soon told its history. 

North of Cadgwith, a wide and very good 
pathway runs to some distance round the verge 
of the cliff, and brings us to Ynys Head. Here 
again the rocks are very grand. Several rare 
plants grow here, and among them asparagus in 
great profusion. In the month of July, the 
foliage of this plant turns into a brilliant golden 
yellow, and with its numerous scarlet berries, 
gives a marked feature to the shelving cliffs. 
So abundant is it, and so luxuriantly does it grow 
that it is often collected for the table ; but it is 
said to be much more bitter in its wild state, than 
when cultivated. 

On the hill beyond Ynys Head, and near the 
signal-station are the remains of a stone struc- 
ture resembling the Apron mentioned above. 



THE CORNISH CHOUGH. 



165 




THE CORNISH CHOUGH. 



Beneath the signal -station occurs a mass of fine 
red serpentine, and here is a cave which is said 
to communicate with the old manor-house of 
Erisey, a mile or two inland. The rocks in this 
neighbourhood are still frequented by the chough, 



166 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

or red-legged crow, a pair of which may often be 
seen soaring about the inaccessible cliffs. 

Caerleon Cove, yet further to the north, is the 
termination of a romantic valley called Poltesco, 
which is well worthy of being explored. It dif- 
fers in character from every other valley on the 
coast, and being composed of massive rocks, 
through which a tolerably large stream battles 
its way, resembles a mountain ravine rather than 
a sea-side outlet. A painter coming hither to 
practise his art, should he grow weary of the sea, 
will here find some very pleasing combinations 
of rock and water, interspersed with picturesque 
cottages. 

Kennack Cove is remarkable as containing the 
greatest extent of sandy shore in the district. 
It is divided into two little bays by a ridge 
of rocks, which run out to a great distance. 
The land is low, and is composed of a succes- 
sion of sand-hills covered with numerous curious, 
and among them, several rare, plants. During the 
months of summer and autumn it is selected as 
a most favourable spot for hauling the ground- 



KENNACK COVE. 167 

seine, for which the shallowness of the water 
admirably adapts it. I had the good fortune to 
be present on one occasion when, except that 
the season was not sufficiently advanced for the 
fish to have come near the shore in large quan- 
tities, all circumstances were favourable for this 
most interesting undertaking. The day had been 
sultry and cloudless ; the wind was from the 
west, (at least so said the fishermen, I could 
detect none at all) the sea calm, except when 
it played around an opposing rock, or curled in 
narrow white lines along the shore ; the sun had 
gone down an hour ; the moon was up and at the 
full, and it was dead low-water and spring-tide. 
The boat which carried the net landed myself 
and the other spectators on the backs of the 
fishermen, who were to act on shore, and who 
having politely deposited us on the hard sand, 
returned for the end of the rope which was 
attached to the net. The net itself was, as well 
as I can recollect, upwards of a hundred fathoms 
long, and three fathoms deep, having a series of 
corks and leads attached to either edge. The 



168 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

boat then put out to sea until it had reached what 
was considered the proper distance from land, 
when the men commenced throwing over the 
net, simultaneously rowing with all their might 
across the mouth of the bay. When the net 
was fairly overboard, they directed their course 
with all speed towards land, carrying with them 
a rope attached to the other extremity of the 
net. This being landed, all hands proceeded to 
drag the net ashore, gradually bringing the two 
ropes nearer, until they had arrived at the net 
itself. All this while, the net, which had assumed 
a semicircular figure, had been sweeping the bot- 
tom with its lower edge, the upper being buoyed 
up to the surface by the corks, so that whatever 
fish had been swimming about in the enclosed 
space, had their retreat effectually cut off. The 
net was now gathered in on the sand and its con- 
tents placed in the boat, and preparations were 
made for another haul. 

The scene, it may be well supposed, was suffi- 
ciently striking in itself ; but the excitement was 
greatly heightened, as it grew late, by the ap- 



THE LESSER WEEVER. 169 

pearance of a large body of men, women, and 
boys, furnished with launce-hooks and baskets, 
busily employed in fishing for launces.* I was 
soon attracted by a little group, who had ga- 
thered round a man belonging to this party, and 
found that he had raked up, and seized hold of, 
a small fish which he supposed to be a launce, 
but which was what he called a sting-fish. It had 
wounded him in the thumb, and so seriously, that 
he declared he was suffering intense pain all the 
way up to his shoulder, so that he had not the 
power of moving his arm. I observed afterwards 
that the seine fishers were very cautious not to 
touch any of the fish in the net, until they had 
ascertained that it was not of the same kind. I 
could not get a sight of a specimen, but conclude 
that it was the Lesser Weever,f a fish described 
by Yarrel as being " about five inches in length ; 
active and subtle in its habits, burying itself in 
the loose soil at the bottom of the water, the head 
only being exposed. It thus waits for its prey — 
aquatic insects or minute crustaceous animals — ■ 

* See page 25. f Trachimts vipera. 



170 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




IHS LESSER WEEVER. 



which the ascending position of its mouth en- 
ables it to seize with certainty. If trod upon, 
or only touched, while thus on the watch, it 
strikes with force either upwards or sideways." 
In what consists the venomous character of the 
wounds which it inflicts is not known, but there 
can be no doubt that its sting is formidable, and 
exceedingly rapid in its effects. 

The fish usually caught here in the ground- 
seine are turbot, soles and other flat-fish, grey and 



FISHERY AT KENNACK. 171 

red mullet, bass, &c. Of all these the red-mullet 
is most highly prized for its fine flavour. The 
liver particularly is thought a great delicacy. It 
ought to be eaten very fresh, as the part which 
is most in request very soon dissolves, and is con- 
sequently lost. Ancient epicures were as sensible 
of the merits of this fish as the moderns. In the 
corrupt days of the Roman Empire " a mullet of 
six pounds weight is recorded to have produced a 
sum equal to 48/. ; one still larger, 64/. ; and even 
240/. were given for three of a very unusual size, 
procured on the same day for a repast of more 
than usual magnificence." The red-mullet caught 
on this coast are eagerly bought up for the Lon- 
don market. 

Not unfrequently, in autumn, the labours of 
the seiners at Kennack are rewarded by a catch 
of mackerel, a fish invaluable to the poor both for 
present consumption, and, when salted, for winter 
use. The mackerel was formerly thought to be 
a migratory fish, coming to us in spring from 
some unknown sea, and leaving us again before 
winter ; fishermen, however, and, I believe, most 



172 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD, 

naturalists, are now of opinion that at the ap- 
proach of winter they simply retire to deep 
water, and remain there until the return of spring. 
If caught at all early in the year, they were not 
prized, being formerly thought unwholesome 
until after the history of Balaam and Balak had 
been read in the churches. But now the winter 
fishery is the most profitable. Soon after the close 
of the herring fishery, in which many of the Cor- 
nish boats engage in the Irish Sea, they proceed 
eastward, and fish with drift-nets for mackerel in 
the deep parts of the channel off the coast from 
Plymouth to Brighton, and supply the London 
markets, or sell the produce of their labours to 
French fishermen, who find it more profitable to 
purchase of the English than to catch for them- 
selves. As the season advances, they come into 
shallower water, and are caught in great numbers 
both with drift-nets and seines. In autumn the 
shoals disperse, or, to use a provincial expression, 
u the schools break up," and it is not until this 
has taken place that they are caught in any quan- 
tities with the hook. They are then very vora- 



FISHERY AT KENNACK. 173 

cious, biting eagerly at any glittering or bright- 
coloured substance which is made to move quickly 
through the water. A bit of red or white leather, 
a piece of tobacco-pipe, a gaudy fly; any of these 
makes a tempting bait ; but that which the Cornish 
fishermen prefer is what they call a last, that is, 
a long and narrow piece of shining skin, cut from 
the tail of one of the mackerel or from that of the 
gurnard. 

The bait being impelled swiftly through the 
water, the hook does not descend to a great depth, 
nor is a large quantity of line necessary ; this 
facilitates the hauling in of the line ; and if the 
fish be abundant, two men will take six or seven 
hundred in a-day, and sometimes even more. This 
method of fishing is usually called whiffing. The 
sport is sometimes interfered with by a long, eel- 
shaped fish, the gur-fish, or long-nose, which not 
knowing that the bait is intended for a worthier 
subject, swallow T s it, hook and all, and cannot be 
extricated without great trouble. It is greatly 
despised by the fishermen, both on account of its 
untimely interference with their occupation, and 



174 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

because its bones being, when boiled, of a bright 
grass green hue, they refuse to eat it. 

Turbot, strange to say, are not much prized as 
food by the fishermen. They complain that its 
flesh is too firm, and are often obliged, for want 
of purchasers, to cut up these fish as bait for their 
crab-pots. Thus a fish worth a guinea is sacri- 
ficed for the chance of catching a few crabs at 
the most not worth a crown. The reason why 
the Cornish fishermen thus " risk a herring to 
catch a sprat" (reversing the old proverb), is that 
they can easily keep their crabs alive until the 
London merchants send for them, but have no 
means of preserving fish for an indefinite time. 

Kennack Cove is bounded on the north by a 
long precipitous headland, appropriately called 
the Blackhead. From various parts of this pro- 
montory are brought some of the most beautiful 
specimens of serpentine. One vein in particular, 
the position of which is kept secret, (it is said to 
be exhausted) consists of pure white steatite, in- 
termingled with fragments of green, red, and 
black serpentine, containing spangles of diallage. 



NATURAL PRODUCTS OF KENNACK. 



175 



The vein itself is not more than two inches in 
thickness, but is well adapted for letter weights 
and brooches, for which purposes few opaque 
stones can compete with it in beauty. 

It would be well worth our while to continue 
our survey for many miles in this direction, but 
as our time is limited to a w r eek, and as this part 
of the coast does not strictly belong to the Lizard 
district, we must return to our head-quarters, 
prepared to sally forth on the morrow on a ram- 
ble round the coast between the Soap-rock and 
Helston. 



176 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



CHAPTER V. 

Pradanack Head. — Chill-rock. — Mullion Island. — Mullion Cove. — 
Copper-mine. — Mullion Cliurch. — Smuggling. — Polurrian. — Ship- 
wrecks. — Gunwalloe Cove and Church. — Dollar-mine, — Halzaphron 
Cliffs. — Loe Pool. — Penrose. — Helston. — Maine- Amber Rock. — 
Furry- day. 

Leaving the Soap-rock, and continuing our 
course northwards by Vellan Point, we arrive 
at Pradanack Head, the rocks in the neighbour- 
hood of which are remarkably grand, assuming 
the character of those observed at Pen Olver'*" 
and the Bass Points, but much loftier. Here 
we may in several places descend without diffi- 
culty, by the sloping turf, to within the distance 
of a few yards from the water's edge, and if the 
weather be sunny and the time afternoon, w T atch 
the white waves sweeping into the gullies beneath, 
and displaying, as the spray is dashed back, the 

'* See page 28. 



PRADANACK HEAD. 



177 




prismatic tints of the rain- 
bow. 4 The same pheno- 
menon may of course be 
observed whenever the rays 
of the sun shine on falling 
drops of water, provided 
that the spectator be stand- 
ing at the right angle ; but 
this is a difficult position 
to attain, except where the 




PRADANACK HEAD. 



178 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

coast is much broken by rocks, and the descent 
practicable to the water's edge. 

Passing on, still towards the north, a sudden 
turn brings us in full view of the sweeping line 
of coast which forms Mount's Bay. In the ex- 
treme distance the high ground, which runs out 
and terminates in the Land's End, appears as if 
suspended between sea and air. The town of 
Penzance may be discovered at the very extre- 
mity of the bay, in front of which St. Michael's 
Mount rises, a castellated pyramid, just open- 
ing behind Ciidden Point, the headland nearest 
to it. 

The next object of interest which catches the 
eye is Trewavas Head, a pile of granite rocks, 
among which may be distinguished the chimneys 
of a forsaken mine, which until recently was 
worked under the sea. A steady gaze by one 
who knows what to search for, will detect among 
this group a single columnar rock, which, seen 
from a certain point, bears a striking resemblance 
to the human figure. The body, which is in a 
half kneeling posture, leans against a table of 



BISHOP-ROCK. 



179 



stone, not unlike a reading-desk, for which rea- 
son, and because the head is furnished with an 
appendage which bears no unfanciful resemblance 
to a wig, it is known by the name of the " Bishop- 
Rock. ,, 







BISHOP-ROCK. 



If seen at all from this distance, it is a mere 
pillar of stone. Still running the eye along 
from more remote objects to nearer ones, it 



180 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

lights on Porthleven, a fishing village furnish- 
ed with a fine pier and a small but secure ba- 
sin, which was constructed to be a harbour of 
refuge for embayed vessels in stormy weather. 
Unfortunately, however, being very difficult of 
access, except to persons well acquainted with 
the sounding, it is for this purpose all but use- 
less. 

Behind Porthleven rises Tregoning Hill, on 
the side of which stands Breage Church, inter- 
esting, since the publication of Evelyn's "Life 
of Mrs. Godolphin," as containing the remains of 
that inestimable lady.* Godolphin House stands 
on the other side of the hill, by which it is con- 
cealed. A long line of sand extends from Porth- 
leven to a dark headland called Halzaphron, the 
central part constituting the Loe Bar, which will 
be described hereafter. Still nearer, Gunwalloe 
Cove is distinctly visible, with its church and 
church-yard, the walls of which are washed by 

* The epitaph, which is given at length in the Biography, is not 
now to be found ; either it has been destroyed, or was inscribed on 
the coffin-plate. 



MULLION GULL-ROCK. 



181 



the sea: and a rapid 
glance brings the eye of 
the spectator along a pic- 
turesque line of cliffs 
and rocks to the objects 
which lie immediately at 
his feet. 

He is now standing on 
one of the eminences 
of a lofty precipice, and 
looks down on a craggy 
insulated rock, the sum- 
mit of which is beyond 




MULLION GULL-ROCK 



182 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

the reach of the spray, except in very stormy 
weather, and is covered on its least-exposed 
side by coarse grass, the other side is quite 
bare of vegetation. This is the Gull-rock; and 
well it deserves its name, for during spring 
and summer the grassy part is frequented by 
thousands of gulls, occupied either in incubation, 
feeding their young, or in teaching them to 
scream ; and apt learners they are, for in the lat- 
ter part of the season the noise is as incessant as 
it is unharmonious. The bare side of the sum- 
mit is frequented by cormorants, and with the 
same object, except that they and their progeny 
are more sedate and less noisy. Strange to say, 
though the extreme nests of each species are 
within a few feet of each other, the owners ap- 
pear to hold no communication, nor in any way to 
mix with one another. Though bound by no 
treaties, and separated by no boundaries either 
natural or artificial, each species retains its own 
habits, unmolesting and unmolested, and preserves 
a dignified indifference to its neighbours' doings, 
which some civilized nations of rational beings 



MULLION ISLAND. 183 

would do well to imitate. These neighbourly 
habits seem to have inspired them with supreme 
contempt of invasion by foreign enemies, for you 
may shout as loud as you please, or pelt them 
with stones until you are weary, without produc- 
ing any sensation beyond what may be expressed 
by an increased clamour. At most, a few gulls will 
leave their perches and soar aloft over your head 
uttering their note more distinctly and almost 
giving to it a tone of defiance. On these occa- 
sions one of their cries is repeated several times 
at short intervals, and sounds more like a dis- 
cordant laugh than the note of a bird. When 
the young are fully fledged, they swim about 
in happy parties round their strong-hold, and 
soon after, all disappear. In the autumn nothing 
remains to indicate where the colony w r as reared 
but the remains of their deserted nests. 

About a quarter of a mile from the shore lies 
Mullion Island, a low rock, w T hich, seen in certain 
points of view, bears something of the shape 
of a couching lion. Diminutive though it ap- 
pears from the shore, it is said to be a mile in cir- 



184 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




cumference, and is covered 
with vegetation. Its pro- 
duce is very limited, being 
principally confined to grass, 
tree-mallow, and beet, which 
two last plants, according 
to Dr. Borlase, "predomi- 
nate alternately every other 
year." He says, that " one 
year nothing will grow but 
mallows, and the next no- 
thing but beets ; so that in mdllion island. 
their respective turns they exclusively possess 
the island, and engross its scanty soil." I 



MULLION COVE. 185 

have had no opportunity of verifying this state- 
ment. 

Mullion Island serves as a natural breakwater 
to Mullion Cove, into which we shortly descend 
by a steep declivity. If, as it has been conjec- 
tured with much plausibility, the names of places 
on this coast are of Phoenician origin, the name 
Mullion may well be derived from a word cognate 
with the Persian for " smooth ;" for although it 
is too much to say that it is always a safe har- 
bour, yet it often happens that the sea is in a 
very tempestuous state all around, except under 
the lea of the island; so that it is at least possible 
that some ancient mariner may have given the 
name to the only spot on the coast in which 
he could take refuge from a storm with any 
chance of security. The Pacific Ocean itself has 
no better title to its name. 

Mullion Cove contains a mill, (which is worked 
by a stream running down through the valley) some 
fish-cellars and a few humble cottages, on which 
last, owing to the height of the rising-ground 
behind them, the sun, in the winter months, 



186 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

never shines. In one of these lives an old man 
who has been blind for many years, and who, 
though at all times contented and amiable, is 
glad indeed when the month of March is come, 
for he finds his solitary walk up and down the 
road in front of his cottage more cheerful when 
he feels the blessed sun-shine falling on his sight- 
less eyes. 

Making our way to the beach between the seine- 
boats, hauled up beyond the reach of the surf, and 
in the fishing-season having all their stores on board 
ready for instant use, we find ourselves in one of the 
most romantic coves on the coast. Mullion Cove 
should be visited about mid-day on the second or 
third day after new or full-moon. The tide is then 
low, and several interesting spots may be inspected 
which at other times are inaccessible. The rocks 
on both sides are very beautiful ; that on the left 
is perforated by a natural archway many yards 
long, leading to an open part of the shore, which 
near the base of the cliff is covered with huge 
blocks of stone, and further out is composed of 
firm sand. No time should be lost in traversing 



MULLION COVE. 187 

this and rounding a projecting mass of serpentine, 
for on the other side of it lies the entrance to by 
far the most imposing of those caves on the coast 
which are accessible from the land. There can 
be no doubt, that at some very distant period, it 
was filled up by a lode of soft steatite, which has 
since been worn away by the action of the sea. 
It is now a huge chink between two sombre rocks, 
the entrance being partially blocked up by a 
smooth black pillar curved like the cut-water of 
a ship. It is a striking object when seen exter- 
nally, yet the view from within it is yet more so 
— impenetrable gloom above — brilliant light 
streaming in through the fissures, but revealing 
nothing behind — the smoothest of all possible 
sands — little pools of crystal water, so still that 
not even a sun-beam is seen to dance on them — 
richly dark rocks, so polished as to reflect the 
light with a splendour scarcely to be endured — 
the blue sea with its curled edging of snow-white 
lace — St. Michael's Mount, the fabled " tower in 
the sea," in the extreme distance ; surely the 
poor blind man must, year by year, be en- 



188 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

deavouring to recall his boyish memory of this 
scene, when the rays of the spring-tide sun, for 
the first time, light on his beaming face. 

The first time that I explored this cavern was 
in the company with a large party of holiday 
schoolboys, who can scarcely have forgotten how, 
when we first discovered it, we regretted that we 
had not brought candles with us, and how one 
of the party volunteered to run to the village, 
a mile off, to procure some, and with what rap- 
ture he was descried with his bundle in his hand, 
and how eagerly every one crowded round for 
his share of the prize. But even the light of 
eighteen candles was insufficient to penetrate the 
gloom, or to give a distinct view of so much as the 
roof ; though the ringing echo of the " three 
cheers for the boy that brought the candles" 
made up for the lack of adventure in the course 
of exploring. My last visit was in the Novem- 
ber of last year, when the number of lights 
was reduced to two, hardly enough to save us 
from stumbling over the rocks. The floor was 
then strewed with apples sodden in water, which 



SERPENTINE AND DIALLAGE ROCKS. 189 

had been washed from a vessel that had recently 
been wrecked near the Land's End. As we ap- 
proached the extremity of the cave we were com- 
pelled to retrace our steps as hastily as possible 
by the sudden rising of myriads of flies, which 
had probably taken up their winter quarters in 
a spot inaccessible by the tide, but, disturbed by 
the sudden glare, swarmed around us and threat- 
ened to extinguish our candles and take refuge 
in our eyes and mouths. 

The serpentine and diallage rocks are not ge- 
nerally productive of metals ; it is only when they 
are traversed by lodes or veins of steatite that 
any mineral is found distinct from the usual con- 
stituents of the stone. About a mile inland 
from the mouth of this cave, and perhaps in 
a part of the same lode by the decomposition 
of which the cave itself w r as formed, a cop- 
per-mine was worked more than a hundred 
years ago. A piece of pure malleable copper 
was then found so large that it required the 
united efforts of four men to carry it. Other 
specimens of metal equally pure were found, 



190 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

but not in sufficient quantities to pay the ex- 
pense of working. The mine then lay neglected 
for twenty years, when it was again worked for 
a short time. A fresh set of adventurers tried 
their fortune after the lapse of about thirty 
years ; but though they discovered masses of 
valuable metal, the speculation failed, and the 
works were discontinued. Recently, active ope- 
rations have been recommenced, and the result 
has been the discovery of masses of rich ore, 
estimated at 50/. a ton, and of malleable copper, 
worth 90/. a ton. Some of the specimens which 
we saw at the house of the agent near the village, 
weighed from 100 to 300 pounds. The metal 
wore the appearance of having been poured, in 
a melted state, into the crevices of the rocks ; 
it was for the most part flattened, and branched 
at the edges ; it had the lustre of a new copper 
coin, and had here and there adhering to its 
sides portions of steatite, stained of a beautiful 
grass-green. 

In a field not very far from the mine, stands 
an ancient stone cross, called, after the name of 



PRADANACK CROSS. 



191 



the estate on which it is situated, Pradanack 
Cross. It is five feet and a half high, and the 
base is inserted in a stone slab. The sites of 




- 



piudanack cross. 



two ancient chapels are also pointed out in dif- 
ferent parts of the parish, but all remains of 
the structures have long disappeared. 



192 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

Mullion Church is distant about a mile and 
a half from the cove, and as it stands on high 
ground is a conspicuous object from all parts 
of the bay. Over the western door is carved 
a crucifix, with the Virgin Mary and the beloved 
disciple standing at the foot of the cross. With- 
in, the Church is partly fitted up with open seats 
of ancient carved oak, the figures on some of 
which represent the instruments of torture used 
at our Blessed Saviour's crucifixion. In the 
chancel is the following quaint inscription : — 

"Thom. Flavel, Vicar of Mullion, 
Died 1682. 

Earth, take thine Earth, my Sin let Satan havet, 
The World my goods, my Soul my God who gavet; 
For from these four, Earth, Satan, World, and God, 
My flesh, my sin, my goods, my soul, I had." 

This Thomas Flavel, during his life, attained 
great celebrity for his skill in the questionable 
art of laying ghosts. His fame still lingers in 
the memories of the more superstitious of the 
inhabitants by the following ridiculous stories. 
On one occasion, when he was gone to church, 



THOMAS FLAVEL. 193 

his servant girl opened a book in his study, 
whereupon a host of spirits sprung up all round 
her. Her master discovered this, though then 
occupied at church, closed his book, and dis- 
missed the congregation. On his return home, 
he took up the book with which his servant 
had been meddling, and read backward the pas- 
sage which she had been reading, at the same 
time laying about him lustily with his w r alking- 
cane ; whereupon all the spirits took their de- 
parture, but not before they had pinched the 
servant-girl black and blue. His celebrity it 
seems was not confined to his own parish, for 
he was once called on to lay a very trouble- 
some ghost in an adjoining parish. As he de- 
manded the large fee of five guineas for his ser- 
vices, two of the persons interested resolved to 
assure themselves, by the evidence of their own 
eyes, that the ceremony was duly performed. 
They accordingly, without apprizing one another 
of their intention, secreted themselves behind two 
graves in the church -yard, a short time before 
the hour named for the absurd rites. In due 

o 



194 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

time the ghost-layer entered the church-yard 
with a book in one hand, a horsewhip in the 
other. On the first smack of the whip, the 
watchers raised their heads simultaneously, 
caught a glimpse of each other, and were both 
so terrified that they scampered off in oppo- 
site directions, leaving the operator to finish 
his business as he might. So popular are su- 
perstitions of this kind, and so long do they 
linger, that to the present day a spot is pointed 
out on the downs named " Hervan Gutter/' 
where Thomas Flavel's own ghost was laid by 
a clergyman, of whom he had said before his 
death, " When he comes I must go." 

The parish of Mullion is remarkable for the 
longevity of its inhabitants, it appearing from 
the register, that out of 17o persons buried 
within the last twelve years, no less than fifty- 
three exceeded the age of seventy, and of these, 
eighteen were upwards of eighty at their death, 
and seven upwards of ninety. The same family- 
names are found in the parish now as occurred 
two hundred years ago, and there has always 



SMUGGLING. 195 

predominated an unaccountable fondness for 
high-sounding classical and scriptural Chris- 
tian names ; such as Hannibal, Zenobia, Diony- 
sius, Erasmus, Marina, Renatus, Joel, Jeremiah, 
Aserath, Theophilus, Thirza, Abraham. It is 
difficult to conjecture whence the former of these 
at least were derived. 

Until recently, that the activity of the coast- 
guard and preventive service have rendered the 
occupation precarious, smuggling was universally 
practised. Few families were not more or less 
engaged in it, either in the person of one of their 
members or by a pecuniary venture, and many 
of the houses had, and still have, though they 
are now disused, secret underground chambers, 
which can be entered only through the parlour 
cupboard, which is furnished with a false back. 
Old grey-headed adventurers still talk with evi- 
dent pleasure of the exciting occupation of their 
younger days, and of their frequent hair-breadth 
escapes, and occasionally contrive to run a cargo, 
even in the existing state of things ; but in the 
times which they can recollect, as many as seven 



196 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

or eight vessels, laden with smuggled goods, have 
been off the cliffs at one time, wind-bound. One 
sturdy veteran in particular, who since he has 
dropped his profession of smuggler, has on many 
occasions risked his life in the effort to save the 
crews of shipwrecked vessels, can tell a tale of 
his being chased by a king's boat, of his having 
thrown himself overboard, of having swam for 
his life, of his having eluded, by diving, blows 
dealt by an oar or a cutlas, and of having escaped 
safe to land. The rowers who pursued may not 
have put forth their utmost strength, and the 
blows may have been aimed with purposed in- 
accuracy, for in those days there were many 
sailors in the navy who had served their appren- 
ticeship to the sea while practising the same 
lawless pursuit, and such would willingly con- 
nive at the escape of a brother craftsman. 

I can myself recollect having conversed, some ten 
or twelve years ago, with a coast-guard-man who 
had formerly been a smuggler, and had with his 
comrades been captured by a revenue cutter. He 
and another were tried and convicted, and sen- 



COAST-GUARD. 197 

tenced, as was then customary, to five years' 
service in the navy. While on board the vessel 
in which they were to proceed to a foreign sta- 
tion, anchored at Spithead, they escaped from 
confinement and threw themselves into the sea 
by night, with the intention of swimming ashore. 
They had not, however, gone far, when they 
were descried by the sentinel on board, who gave 
the alarm, and they were fired at. My informant 
reached the shore in safety, hid himself for a 
short time, and being afraid to return to his 
own neighbourhood, entered into the preventive 
service, and was at the very time that I saw him, 
after the lapse of some years, visiting his friends 
in his native village, and close to the scene of his 
early feats of daring. His comrade was not so 
fortunate ; either he was struck by a bullet, or 
became exhausted before he reached the shore, 
and was drowned. At all events, he was never 
seen again. 

About the same period too I was one fine 
summer evening loitering about the beach, near 
a small fishing village, in a remote part of 



198 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

the county. It was about four o'clock, the 
sea was as smooth as glass, and the wind so 
light, that whatever vessels and boats were in 
sight were either stationary or sluggishly im- 
pelled by oars. One fishing-boat only, about a 
hundred yards from shore, had its sails hanging 
idly from the mast, but yet appeared to be creep- 
ing towards a quay which ran out between the 
beach, on which I was standing, and the houses 
in which the coast-guard resided. At the very 
instant that she had advanced so far that the pier 
was interposed between her hull and the houses, 
I observed a great splashing caused by something 
repeatedly thrown into the water from the boat, 
and a number of men rushed down from the 
houses, dashed into the water up to their middles, 
and scampered up the beach with a keg in each 
hand. In the scuffle the boat capsized, but as 
she was in shallow water, no mischief ensued, and 
in the course of a few minutes two or three 
peaceable orderly fishermen were quietly setting 
her to rights, and mooring her for the night. 
Last year, a fisherman of the same village was 



SMUGGLING. 199 

taking me on a cruize in his boat, when 1 asked 
him whether there was any smuggling now at 

? His reply was singular enough : " The 

last cargo that was run was my venture, and with 
my boat, ten or twelve years ago ; we brought 
over 150 kegs, and landed them on a fine sum- 
mer's evening at four o'clock, close under the 
preventive-houses. They thought then that we 
always chose stormy weather and dark nights to 
land our goods, but we tricked them. The risk, 
however, was very great, and I believe that no 
one has ever ventured since." 

For the following narrative, I am indebted to 
the Rev. F. Gregory, who has also supplied me 
with a good deal of other information connected 
with this part of the coast. About forty-five years 
ago, a Mount's Bay boat, commanded by a man 
nicknamed "Billy the Praow,"* ran ashore at 

* The Cornish , especially in the mining districts, are particularly- 
fond of giving each other nick-names. I have heard a story told of a 
woman, who when her husband was enquired after by his real name, 
did not know who was meant ; so thoroughly had she grown into the 
habit of addressing him by the fictitious epithet. 



200 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

Mullion Cove with a cargo of French brandy. 
The Hecate, gun-brig, was then stationed in 
Mount's Bay, and suspecting what was going on, 
despatched a boat to take possession of the smug- 
gler. The crew of the latter being taken by 
surprise, made little or no resistance, and aban- 
doned their prize. The country people, however, 
being informed of the fact, collected in large 
numbers along the cliffs, and firing upon the 
captors from behind the rocks, compelled them in 
their turn to relinquish their booty, and return 
to the ship. Many of the most respectable per- 
sons in the parish engaged in this lawless enter- 
prise, and though they were threatened with 
prosecution, the matter was hushed up. About 
eight or nine years ago, my informant was called 
on to visit ministerially, one of the most active 
persons concerned in this affray, then an old man 
lying on his death -bed. Being talked to about 
his religious belief, and questioned as to his 
acquaintance with the Sacred Volume, he con- 
fessed his utter ignorance of the contents of 
both the Old and New Testaments, and, as a 



ANECDOTE OF A SMUGGLER. 201 

natural consequence, of the duty of a Christian. 
The only passage in the Bible of which he had 
any knowledge, was the sixteenth verse of the 
twenty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel: "Son of man, 
behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine 
eyes with a stroke : yet neither shalt thou mourn 
nor weep, neither shalt thy tears run down." 
Being asked to account for the strange fact that 
this passage rested on his memory while he was 
nevertheless unable to repeat one of the sim- 
plest declarations or promises of the Gospel, he 
said, "that when he was a boy living in farm- 
service at Gunwalloe, his mistress died suddenly, 
and the clergyman of the parish coming to see 
his master, asked what text he should choose for 
the funeral sermon which he intended to preach 
on the following Sunday. He overheard his 
master answer in the above words, which made 
a lodgement in his mind, and came back to his 
recollection after seventy years or more of reck- 
less, unsettled living, when everything else re- 
lating to religion, if ever learnt at all, had been 
entirely forgotten. This anecdote not only shews 



202 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

the indelibility of religious impressions received 
in youth, however slight they may have been, or 
however unproductive of good results ; but, if 
the ignorance which it indicates be characteristic 
of a class and not merely of an individual, suf- 
ficiently accounts for the impossibility of convin- 
cing smugglers that their occupation is not only 
lawless but sinful. 

The fishery at Mullion was formerly very pro- 
ductive. In the year 1806 or 1807 as many as 
7000 hogsheads of pilchards were taken and cured. 
These were summer fish, and were shipped for the 
Mediterranean in autumn. About sixteen years 
ago winter fish were first taken, from which time 
the pilchard boats began to put to sea twice a- 
year. Of late years, however, the visits of the 
summer fish to the shallow water have been rare, 
and shoals are now not often enclosed in the 
seine except in winter. 

Proceeding from Mullion Cove, we ascend a 
steep acclivity, and passing a flag-staff, the signal 
station of the coast-guard, observe several tall 
posts fixed in the turf. These are intended as 



mount's bay. 203 

boundary-marks for the fishermen in the pilchard 
season. The shore beneath is sandy and well 
adapted for shooting the seine, and in order that 
all parties may have equal chance of a catch 
when the pilchards are on the coast, each com- 
pany takes its station on the best ground for 
a definite time, and then resigns it to another. 
A short way further on the ground rises into 
a fine peak of slate rocks, rudely piled together 
and commanding a glorious view of the Mount's 
Bay. It has been named " the Cathedral," partly 
from its pinnacled character and partly from the 
following incident. Some years since an Irish 
Roman Catholic in the coast-guard service, who 
had been forbidden by his priest to attend divine 
service at the parish church, was in the habit 
of spending the greater part of every Sunday 
on this spot. Here he read and meditated, and 
as he, no doubt, believed he was doing right in 
refusing to worship with those whom he had 
heard denounced as heretics, the alternative 
which he chose can scarcely be considered cul- 
pable. 



204 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

The sandy cove, a little to the right, is Po- 
lurrian Cove, as we descend to which we have 
an exceedingly beautiful view of Mullion Island, 
with its strongly marked outline resembling some 
enormous animal couching in the sea, whilst the 
broken cliffs beyond are scarcely less striking. 
A narrow winding path leads down to the sands \ 
about a third of the way down, in a little natural 
hollow, sheltered from every wind that blows, a 
long, narrow, mound points out where rests at 
length some sea-tossed mariner, all that is known 
of whose history is, that here his corpse was 
washed on shore, and here consigned to the 
grave. Common though the occurrence of burial- 
places is on these cliffs, there is something par- 
ticularly touching in this lonely grave of the 
unknown wanderer. The last wreck, attended 
with extensive loss of life, at this cove, took 
place in the night of the 20th of June, 1838, 
when a Neapolitan vessel of 180 tons burden 
was driven on shore and all her crew perished. 
Nothing was known of the occurrence till next 
morning, when the shore was observed to be 



COVE OF POLJEW. 205 

scattered with pieces of wreck, and in the course 
of a few days eleven bodies were picked up and 
buried in the churchyard. 

A mile futher on is the sandy cove of Poljew. 
Here a wreck took place about forty years ago, 
and the yeomanry cavalry being, as was then 
usual, called in to prevent depredations, a miner 
from one of the inland parishes was killed in 
a scuffle. In the autumn of last year a Nor- 
wegian vessel laden with Indian corn was driven 
on shore, in the night, on a rock to the right 
of this cove. The vessel almost instantly went 
to pieces. With great difficulty three of the 
crew, who were washed against the base of the 
cliff, climbed to the top, and proceeding inland 
were hospitably entertained at the first cottage 
which came in their way. At dawn of day they 
returned to the coast to search for their com- 
rades, though their hopes were but small. As it 
grew lighter something dark was observed in 
a crack of the rock, and immediately afterwards 
a slight motion was perceived. Three men were 
eventually descried huddled together, but so 



206 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

exhausted as to be unable to make any effort to 
save themselves. By dint, however, of great ex- 
ertions, and the daring skill of the people on 
shore (among whom the old smuggler, mentioned 
above, held a prominent place) a small cord was 
thrown across, the end of which the poor ship- 
wrecked mariners contrived to make fast. By 
help of this communication, hot coffee, and bread 
and butter were conveyed to them. This re- 
freshment and the renewed hope of preservation 
strengthened them to renewed exertion. In the 
course of a few hours a stronger rope was fixed, 
and a kind of rude chair made to slide over 
to them, in which they were one by one brought 
safely to land, after having been for ten hours 
exposed not only to a cold wind but to the 
action of the sea, which dashed over them at very 
short intervals. The rest of the crew, six in 
number, were drowned. For more than a fort- 
night after, the shore was crowded by poor people 
fishing up the damaged corn, which, though unfit 
for human food, found ready purchasers among 
those who kept pigs. People came from a dis- 



GUNWALLOE COVE. 107 

tance of ten or twelve miles to the scene of this 
wreck, and the various roads diverging from the 
spot were for a long time sprinkled with Indian 
corn, which had fallen from their carts or bags. 

On leaving Poljew, we find the character of the 
coast altering ; the cliffs are less lofty, and the 
land sweeps away to the west in a succession of 
undulating sand-hills. As w r e descend, Gunwalloe 
Cove and Church open on us, the former as 
delightful a spot in which to spend a long summer's 
day as can be well imagined ; the latter an ancient 
structure, said to have been erected as a votive 
offering by some rescued mariner. The Church- 
yard walls are washed by the sea; the unpretend- 
ing belfry is detached from the Church, being 
built against the side of a hill which rises be- 
tween it and the sea. On the point outside 
formerly stood a stone cross, where it must have 
been the first evidence of human workmanship 
which presented itself to any one approaching the 
land. It has long been thrown down, and is said 
to be now lying at the bottom of the stream which 
winds its way down the valley. If this be the 



208 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



case, it is much to be hoped that it may soon be 
restored to the spot where it was piously erected. 




SUNWALLOE CHURCH. 



In the absence of all record, it may be conjectured 
with some plausibility, that the rock on which it 
stood, was the very one on which the founder 
of the church secured his footing after his ship- 



SHIPWRECK. 209 

wreck. If it be, as some maintain, a superstitious 
feeling which leads to the restoration of crosses, 
that is surely a laudable superstition, which would 
commemorate the fact, that an unknown Christian, 
who lived in days beyond the memory of man, 
here gave Glory to God for an act of mercy, in 
saving him from sudden death. 

.A rather wide valley runs up from Gunwalloe 
Cove, with so gradual a rise, that a great part of 
it is marshy ; the little river which flows through 
it appears in many places to be almost motion- 
less. It is lined, and sometimes almost filled with 
flags and other aquatic plants, among which 
the great spear-wort,* a rare plant in the south of 
England, is very conspicuous. 

Beyond Gunwalloe Church, the land rises and 
the coast again becomes bold for a short distance. 
The cliffs, though not very lofty, are precipitous, 
and offer no chance of escape to any unfortunate 
vessel which may chance to be driven in within 
reach of the rocks. About the year 1785, a ves- 
sel laden with wool, and having also on board 

* Ranunculus Lingua, 

P 



210 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

two and a half tons of money, was driven ashore, 
a few hundred yards west of the church, and soon 
went to pieces. Ever since, at intervals, after a 
storm, dollars have been picked up on the beach, 
but never in sufficient numbers to compensate for 
the time wasted in the search. No measures, 
however, on a large scale, for recovering the 
precious cargo were adopted until three years ago, 
when people were startled to hear that a party of 
adventurers were going to sink a dollar-mine in 
the sea.* The vessel had gone to pieces between 
two rocks at a short distance from the base of the 
cliff, and here it was proposed to construct a 
kind of coffer-dam, from which the water was to 
be pumped out and the dollars to be picked up at 
leisure. Mad though the scheme was, operations 

* This is not the only unsuccessful search for treasure which has 
been made at Gunwalloe. In the sand-banks near the church (or, as 
others say, at Kennack Cove), the notorious buccaneer, Captain Avery, 
is reported to have buried several chests of treasure previously to his 
leaving England, on the voyage from which he never returned. So 
strongly did this opinion prevail, that Mr. John Knill, collector of 
the customs at St. Ives, procured, about the year 1770, a grant of 
treasure-trove, and expended some money in a fruitless search. 



SCHEME FOR A DOLLAR-MINE. 211 

were actually commenced ; a path was cut in the 
face of the cliff, iron-rods were fixed into the rocks 
and several beams of timber laid down, when a 
breeze set in from the south-west, and in the 
course of a few hours the work of as many weeks 
was destroyed. The wood-work was ripped up 
as effectually as if it had been a mere wicker- 
cage, and the coast soon lined with the fragments. 
It is not likely that the attempt will be renewed. 
The speculators were in this instance strangers, 
which accounts for the enterprise having been 
taken in hand at all ; for any one acquainted with 
the coast must have been well aware, that al- 
though the sea is sometimes tolerably calm for 
many consecutive days, it never is so for a period 
long enough to allow the completion of a work 
which requires time, and which, in the most 
favourable weather, is beset with difficulties ; 
indeed, an ordinary breeze setting on this shore 
excites the sea to such a state of fury, that 
certainly no unfinished mechanical structure could 
withstand the force of the breakers. 

The piece of land west of the church terminates 



212 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

in a promontory which may well be distinguished 
by an insulated rock, shaped like a haystack. 
The side facing Mount's Bay is scarped by a 
shelving cliff of slate, and since it looks towards 
the west, and commands an uninterrupted view 
of the bay, is an excellent point from which to 
watch a fine sunset. One which I observed here 
is too strongly imprinted on my memory to be 
forgotten. It was at the close of a very hot 
day in July, still and cloudless, and I was walking 
from Mullion to Helston, having quickened my 
steps to be in time to see the sun go down from 
the Halzaphron Cliffs, as they are called. When 
I reached this point, the sun was within a few 
degrees of the horizon, but shining brilliantly 
here and over several miles of sea to the west- 
ward : but beyond this all was wrapped in an 
impenetrable mantle of mist. I could only dis- 
cover that the two boundaries of the bay were 
simultaneously subject to two atmospheric in- 
fluences, as different from each other as summer 
and winter. Where I stood the air was clear, 
bright, and still ; what little motion of the wind 



HALZAPHRON CLIFFS. 213 

had been perceptible during the day was from 
the east or south. Towards the Land's End, 
the sun slowly descended behind a mass of dense 
mist, which, as he disappeared, assumed the deep- 
est of all possible blue-purple hues, with a narrow 
well-defined edge of gold or rather of liquid 
yellow fire. The mist in front caught none of 
these tints ; but from the shore, a little beyond 
the fishing village of Porthleven, it rolled on 
rapidly in white filmy clouds from the north, 
as if it knew that the melting beams of the sun 
were now withdrawn, and were anxious to oc- 
cupy as soon as possible the station where it 
was to hold sway during the night. In a few 
seconds every bright tint had vanished, the whole 
mass of clouds, for such they had now become, 
were of a dull whitish-grey colour ; as far as the 
eye could reach it looked down on the uneven 
masses moving like tops of the trees in a forest 
during a tempest. A few seconds more, and a 
chilling north wind blew in my face, and ac- 
companied me during the remainder of my walk. 
What particularly struck me on this occasion, was 



214 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

not so much, the shifting character of the scene, as 
the extraordinary rapidity of the change, which 
was much greater than that which usually accom- 
panies the operations of nature. The contrast was 
as great as exists between mid-day and mid-night, 
and the whole took place during the time that the 
sun was descending through a portion of the sky 
but a little greater than its own diameter. I could 
compare the effect on the mind to nothing but that 
produced by a brilliant display of fireworks ; but 
even this comparison fails in one respect, for, to 
be exact, the display should commence in broad 
daylight, last but for a few minutes, and yet ter- 
minate in gloom. I afterwards heard that some 
persons who were tempted by the bright appear- 
ance of the morning to plan an evening expedition 
to the Bishop Rock, (the singularly formed rock 
mentioned above, less than two miles west of 
Porthleven,) carried their design into execution, 
but could distinguish nothing, owing to their 
being enveloped in the mist. So variable and 
uncertain is the climate of Cornwall. 

About forty years since a transport was wreck- 



LOE POOL. 215 

ed under the Halzaphron cliffs, and a great num- 
ber of lives were lost. The bodies of thirty sea- 
men and military were buried near the spot 
where they were washed ashore, and this is the 
last instance of burying the corpses of ship- 
wrecked persons in unconsecrated ground. In 
consequence of the strong feeling excited on this 
occasion, the late Mr. Davies Gilbert introduced 
into Parliament an act sanctioning the burial of 
bodies thrown up by the sea, in the parish church- 
yard, the expenses attending such interment being 
defrayed out of the county rate. 

A little to the west of Halzaphron is the fish- 
ing village of Gunwalloe, and from hence a long 
line of beach, composed of small pebbles, ex- 
tends to Porthleven. About mid-way across, the 
high land suddenly sinks, and forms a basin for the 
Loe Pool, the largest lake in the west of Eng- 
land. There are so many peculiarities connected 
with this body of water, that the tourist will find 
it worth his while to devote a few hours to sur- 
veying it. It is formed by several small streams, 
which descend from the hills around in various 



216 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

directions, the largest, called the Cober, flowing by 
the town of Helston, which is situated near the 
head of the lake, and is visible from the sea, from 
which it is distant about three miles. The lake 
is separated from the sea by a belt or bar of small 
pebbles, which at low-water is perhaps three or 
four hundred yards wide. Its structure being 
loose, it allows the water to percolate freely, so 
that unless the season be very rainy, it does not 
vary greatly in extent ; the average surface is 
a hundred and sixty-three statute acres. In 
winter, however, it frequently happens that the 
quantity of water brought down from the hills 
exceeds to such a degree that which is strained 
off through the Bar, that the lake extends into 
the lower part of the town, floods the road and 
even some of the houses, and stops the town 
mills. When this takes place, the parties inte- 
rested proceed to Penrose, the manor to which 
the Loe Pool is attached, and delivering to the 
lord a leathern purse containing three half-pence, 
request permission to cut through the Bar. This 
task is frequently much more laborious than one 



CUTTING THE BAR. 217 

would imagine, for when a channel four or five 
feet wide has been dug from the lake to the sea, 
and a copious stream of water rushes into the 
opening of the channel, so loose is its gravelly- 
bed that before the water has traversed twenty 
feet, it sinks into the soil and disappears. Ef- 
forts are made to meet the difficulty by widen- 
ing and deepening the mouth until a communi- 
cation between the fresh and salt water is es- 
tablished. Then, nothing more remains to be 
done : in a few hours a deep, mighty, river is 
bursting out with inconceivable velocity, and en- 
gaging in violent conflict with the waves of the 
ocean ; as the two meet they clash together w r ith 
terrific uproar, while the sea for twenty, or even 
thirty miles, is tinged of an ochrous hue. Even 
at the Scilly Islands the cutting of the Loe Bar 
has been notified by the altered colour of the 
water. In a very few hours after the torrent 
has reached its height, a great part of the bed 
of the lake may be traversed on foot ; the eastern 
creek called Carminowe alone retains a large body 
of w^ater, and a river of considerable depth still 



218 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

flows out through the channel. Sometimes the 
mouth of the channel is not closed again for 
many days, during which the tide ebbs and flows 
into the lake. But if a storm comes on from 
the west or south-west, the breach in the Bar is 
soon repaired, and not unfrequently enough 
salt water is shut in to impart a brackish fla- 
vour to a part of the lake for several months 
after. It is rarely necessary to break the Bar 
twice in one year, sometimes not even once ; but 
the walls or banks of pebbles which lined the 
old channel commonly remain until the next time 
of cutting. In the winter months, too, the sea 
during a storm from the south-west makes a 
breach over the Bar, so that it is not unusual 
to find sea-weed and the broken corks of nets 
lying on the edge of the lake, a long way up. If 
a large quantity of salt-water be thrown in, the 
necessity of cutting the Bar is accelerated. 
While, the channel remains open, herrings, 
flounders, and shrimps find their way into the 
lake and are shut in ; a marine plant, also, Ruppia 
maritima, flourishes in Carminowe Creek. The 



CUTTING THE BAR. 219 

Loe Pool abounds in a very fine variety of pink 
fleshed trout, said to resemble the char of the 
northern lakes, and in eels. The Treville family 
formerly held lands near Helston by the service of 
providing a boat and nets for the king's use in Loe 
Pool, during the whole time of his stay, whenever 
he should visit Helston. This tenure goes far 
to prove that the celebrity of Loe trout is of 
ancient standing. History, however does not 
record before which of our kings the dainty dish 
was ever set. Nansloe, another estate adjoining 
the Loe, is held on condition of providing a boat 
and nets for the Duke of Cornwall whenever his 
Royal Highness visits that part of his Duchy. 

Penrose, the seat of the Rev. Canon Rogers, is 
situated on the western side of the Loe. The 
walk through the park, from the Bar to Helston, 
is particularly pleasant, being lined a great part 
of the way by ancient stunted oaks of most fan- 
tastic growth, and at other parts being carried 
through promising young plantations, composed 
of trees judiciously selected as being able to resist 
the sea-breeze, and which will in time greatly 



220 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



improve the features of the landscape. Among 
them Pinus Austriaca holds out a fair pro- 
mise of being one of the most valuable trees for 




Loe Pool — from Degibna Wood. 

shelter and ornament that have ever been in- 
troduced into Cornwall. Opposite Penrose are 
other plantations ; from Degibna Wood, in par- 



duff's hole. 221 

ticular, the view of the lake/ Bar and sea is 
particularly striking. Here, too, is a natural 
spring, round which the flowering fern* grows 
with peculiar grace. 

There are some old lead-mines, long since 
deserted, adjoining the Penrose woods. An adit 
having communication with one of these, has 
received the name of Duff's Hole, from the fol- 
lowing circumstance. About fifty years ago, two 
soldiers happened to be passing by the cave, and 
one of them from curiosity entered, but presently 
returned in great alarm, saying that there was a 
man within. Accompanied by his comrade he 
entered again, and discovered a poor man appa- 
rently on the point of death, who was sub- 
sequently removed to Helston. By careful 
treatment he was restored, though with the loss 
of his toes, which were amputated, and it was 
found that his name was Duff, that he was a 
person of weak intellect, and had escaped from 
the care of his friends, and had wandered all the 
way from Scotland till he found the cave in 

* Osmunda regalis* 



222 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

question, into which he entered, with the inten- 
tion of starving himself. He had been there 
several days when he was discovered, and had 
taken no solid food, but, being unable to endure 
the pangs of thirst, had, but a short time before 
he was found, crawled down to the Loe for a 
draught of water, and had returned to die. His 
friends were subsequently apprized of his ex- 
istence, and fetched him home. 

There are but few objects of interest to the 
antiquary near Helston ; the most remarkable 
is a pile of rocks, on Trannick Hill, about three 
miles to the north of the town, and called Maine 
Amber. Norden gives an engraving of it as it 
appeared in 1584, and from this the accompany- 
ing woodcut is copied. His description is as 
follows : " Maine-amber ; Certayne huge stones, 
so sett and subtillye combined (not by art, as I 
take it, but by nature) as a childe may move the 
upper stone, beinge of a huge bignes, with one 
finger, so equallie balanced it is ; and the forces 
of manie strong men enjoyned can doe no more 
in moving it." He adds the dimensions of the 



MAINE-AMBER ROCK. 



topmost stone, viz. height, six feet; length, 
eleven ; thickness, five and a half. It is now no 
longer a Logan stone; for, in the time of the 
Commonwealth, it was reported to the authorities 




MAINE-AMBER HOCK 



that the rock was regarded with superstitious 
eyes by the lower orders, and accordingly a party 
of soldiers were marched from Falmouth, for the 
most magnanimous purpose of upsetting it, which 



224 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

feat they duly performed, proving at least that 
the latter part of Norden's description was in- 
correct. Its appearance, however, is so little 
altered, that in turning over the pages of Nor- 
den's Survey, I recognised the group before the 
name caught my eye. 

We must not quit Helston without briefly 
noticing a singular custom which has existed 
here from time immemorial. Annually, on the 
8th of May, a party of men and boys go into 
the country at a very early hour in the morning, 
and return about seven o'clock, bearing green 
branches, and announcing in a very melancholy 
ditty, that <c winter is gone, and that they have 
been to the merry green-wood to fetch home 
summer in its place." Having perambulated the 
town, and accepted money from all who will give, 
they retire from the scene, and the town, for the 
remainder of the morning, is enlivened by the 
frequent arrival of carriages from the country 
and neighbouring towns, bearing visitors who 
intend to participate in the coming gaiety. 

At one o'clock a large party of ladies and gen- 



" FURRY-DAY." 225 

tlemen, wearing summer attire, and profusely 
decorated with flowers, assemble opposite the 
Town-hall, and, preceded by a band of music, 
commence a peculiar kind of dance, called " the 
furry," first tripping on in a double row, and then, 
at a change in the tune, wheeling round in cou- 
ples. These evolutions are not confined to the 
street ; for, here and there, where the doors are 
thrown open, the dancers enter the houses, band 
and all, traverse the courts and gardens, and may 
presently be seen emerging by another doorway, 
if the house be furnished with two, otherwise by 
that at which they entered. In this way they 
traverse the whole town, presenting an appear- 
ance as gay as it is unusual, especially while 
winding through some of the exceedingly beautiful 
gardens for which the town is remarkable, and 
which, at this season, the laburnums and lilacs 
being in full flower, are arrayed in their most 
showy livery. Later in the day, other parties go 
through the same manoeuvres, and it is not till 
late at night that the at other times quiet little 
town returns to its propriety. 

Q 



226 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



What is the origin of this singular custom is 
not known. In all probability it is a relic of very 
remote antiquity, and no slight confirmation of 
this opinion is afforded by the fact, that the air 
played while the dancing is going on is still tra- 
ditional in Wales and Brittany, countries to 
which, as well as to Cornwall, our forefathers 
retired before their Saxon invaders. 




22', 



CHAPTER VI. 

A Day at Sea, — Fishing for Wrasse. — Bream. — Pleasures of Sea-fish- 
ing. — Bathing in Deep-zvater. — Pipe-fish. — Minute Fish. — Swimming- 
crabs. — Gurnards. — Pollack. — Cuttle-fish. — Dog-fish. — Daintiness 
of Crabs. — Trammel-net. — Spillers and Boulters. — Sea-sickness. — 
Crabs, Lobsters, and Craw-fish. — Loss of Crab-pots. — Unexpected 
Prize. — Barter with becalmed Vessels. — American and French 
Barks. 

Five days of the week have been spent, not 
altogether unprofitable I hope, on shore. The 
sixth, if the weather be favourable, may be de- 
voted to an excursion by sea ; and we shall thus 
have an opportunity of observing the habits of 
some of the inhabitants of the deep, and of gain- 
ing an insight into the daily life of the honest and 
industrious fishermen of the Lizard. 

The history of a day, consisting of fourteen 
hours, actually spent in a boat belonging to some 
crabbers, who civilly allow r ed me to accompany 



228 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

them, and who took great interest in the curiosity 
I displayed to make myself acquainted with the 
mysteries of their craft, will answer my purpose 
better, and, at the same time, be more amusing to 
my readers, than if I were to present them with 
an abstract account of the routine operations gone 
through by a whole class. And if I intersperse 
my narrative with the detail of incidents that 
occurred on other occasions, I shall be enabled 
to convey yet further information. 

At five o'clock, then, on a very bright morning 
in June, accompanied by a young friend, I met, 
by appointment, my fellow-voyagers at the Lizard 
Town, and proceeded with them to Polpeer, 
where their boat lay, hauled up high and dry, on 
the sand. The boat's crew consisted of three stout, 
weather-beaten men, who, if sinew and strength 
be a criterion, may have derived their descent 
from the ancient race of Cornish giants. They 
carried their fishing-lines and provisions for the 
day; the latter, which they called " foggin," con- 
sisting of cakes made of wheaten flour, sprinkled 
at intervals with a few currants (which appeared 



A DAY AT SEA. 229 

to be playing at hide-and-seek), and a jar of water. 
This seemingly-unsatisfying fare, they assured me, 
was their usual food, as they rarely tasted meat. 
My own sea-stock, I must confess, was somewhat 
more substantial. 

A few spider-crabs, reserved from the preced- 
ing day's fishing, were also stored away in the 
boat, and we forthwith launched out to sea. We 
had not gone far when the anchor was thrown 
over, our hooks were baited with the soft sub- 
stance obtained from the body of the crab, and 
the lines let down, the object being to catch fish 
wherewith to bait the crab-pots. Most of the 
lines were furnished with leads, which were al- 
lowed to sink until the bait nearly touched the 
bottom ; one was thrown over without any weight 
attached to it, and floated away with the tide. 
With the latter we almost immediately hooked a 
large pollack, weighing seven or eight pounds, 
and with the ground-lines were pulled in a good 
many wrasse,* of various species. The wrasse, or 
ra-agh, as the fishermen pronounce it, is a thick, 

* Labrus. 



230 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

heavy fish, with fleshy lips, and mottled with 
red, yellow, and green. One species, less com- 
mon than those which we caught to-day, but still 
not rare, has a prominent eye, and when taken 
from the water is variegated with the most bril- 
liant colours that I have ever seen, azure blue, 
orange and yellow being the predominant tints. 
It is called by the fishermen a cuckoo, and is 
probably the " striped wrasse"* of authors. None 
of the species are valued as food ; the cuckoo par- 
ticularly (for I have had the curiosity to taste it), 
is watery and insipid. But neither crabs nor 
lobsters are fastidious, so my companions were 
well satisfied with their capture. 

In a short time the tide ceased to be favour- 
able for fishing in this spot ; we accordingly 
weighed anchor, and rowed off to try for some 
bream, at a greater distance from shore, in a place 
selected by the fishermen outside the Stags. Here 
we again cast anchor, and fished with our lines 
near the bottom in much deeper water ; our bait 
being still the soft part of a spider-crab tied to 

* L. variegatus. 



PLEASURES OF SEA-FISHING. 231 

the hook by fine twine, to prevent its being washed 
off by the tide. A light line was also thrown 
over; with a larger bait for pollack. 

It not unfrequently happens that one may sit 
for an hour or two at this kind of fishing without 
getting a solitary bite ; yet, for all that, there is 
always something pleasing to look at, and some- 
thing happening calculated to amuse and instruct. 
In the first place, the mere fact of being buoyed 
up in from ten to twenty fathoms of clear blue 
water, gently rising and falling with an agreeable 
motion (though some, perhaps, may question this), 
produces a pleasurable and tranquil state of mind. 

Then, there is in the hottest weather (and such 
should always be chosen by the amateur), a cool- 
ness in the air not to be obtained on the shore. 
More than half of the horizon is open sea, and 
the line of coast is exquisitely beautiful under all 
circumstances. The pulling up of the line oc- 
casionally to see whether the bait has been nib- 
bled off, is certainly rather tame work ; but the 
hook may catch fast in the bottom, and then one 
has a very good chance of bringing up some 



232 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

quaint zoophyte or brilliantly-coloured seaweed, 
and there is always an interest connected with 
specimens thus obtained, which does not attach to 
those thrown on shore after a storm. Sea-birds 
of various kinds every now and then fly past the 
boat, about which the boatmen generally have 
something to say. 

If one be a swimmer, there is something par- 
ticularly delicious in plunging in and paddl- 
ing about in water, cold, pure, sparkling, buoy- 
ant and in every way as superior to the water 
which washes the shore, as that is to the muddy 
fluid brought down by an inland river ; no 
decaying sea-weed, no bruising of knees against 
sunken rocks, no cutting one's feet by stepping on 
broken bottles here. Then, if one could but forego 
the necessity of breathing, and drop down some 
hundred feet, what rare specimens in natural 
history might be discovered — what insight gained 
into the economy and habits of creatures of whom 
we now know nothing but their shape, colour, and 
the number of their fins ! It seems strange to 
have beneath one, and yet to be unable to visit, a 



SNAKE PIPE-FISH. 233 

region as unexplored as the centre of Africa. 
To be sure, when one has had enough of swim- 
ming, it is not quite so easy to get into the boat 
as it was to jump off; and, though no danger is 
to be apprehended from sharks, one runs the risk 
of encountering a shoal of snorting porpoises, 
immediate contact with whom would not be al- 
together pleasant, though they are not mischiev- 
ous ; but these inconveniences are more than 
counterbalanced by the positive enjoyment of the 
thing, and need deter no swimmer from the at- 
tempt ; learners had better practise near home. 

But without actually going into the water 
we shall not find the time hang heavily. The 
fishermen are always ready to communicate what 
they know of the inhabitants of the deep, and 
some of the latter occasionally come to the surface 
and tell their own tales. One of these is the 
snake pipe-fish, a singular little animal, seven 
or eight inches long, so unfish-like in shape that 
I thought at first that it was a fragment of a 
slender sea-weed. It crawls along the surface 
of the water with the motion of a serpent, and 



234 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

may readily be taken with the hand. Nothing 
appears to be known of the habits of this par- 
ticular species ; but the " great pipe-fish"* is re- 



SNAKE PIPE-FISH. 



markable for the attachment which it displays 
for its young. It is furnished underneath 

* Syngnatlms acus. 



MINUTE FISHES. 235 

with a pouch, which serves as a shelter to which 
the young ones retreat in case of danger. M. 
Risso states that, when an adult fish is taken, 
if the young be shaken out of the pouch into 
the water, they will not swim away, but when 
the parent fish is held in the water in a favour- 
able position, the young will again enter the 
pouch. 

Sometimes a merry little company of about 
half a dozen minute fishes, less than an inch in 
length, swims up to the boat, as if to enquire 
" What is going on here ?" They are evidently 
in no hurry, and are quite disposed to be on 
familiar terms, except that they prefer remain- 
ing in their own element. They swim with a 
vibratory motion on the surface of the water, 
keeping very close together until you attempt 
to catch them ; but touch the w r ater with but 
the tip of your finger and they instantaneously 
disperse and as quick as thought re-appear, just 
beyond your reach, in a party as compact as 
ever. They are too insignificant to have received 
a name from the fishermen, nor am I aware that 



236 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 



any naturalist has described them. I have never 
had the opportunity of inspecting them closely. 

Small swimming crabs, while engaged in their 
foraging expeditions, occasionally come near the 

boat. They differ 
; in structure from 
the other crabs in 
having their legs 
flattened instead of 
round ; one pair es- 
pecially is dilated 
to a remarkable de- 

WALKING AND SWIMMING-CRAB. g^C, and With tllCSC 

they paddle themselves along very cleverly, keep- 
ing close to the surface of the water. Their food 
consists of the light particles of animal matter, 
which have either risen from below, or been drop- 
ped by sea-birds. They are, too, quite active 
enough to hunt for and capture living fish, such 
as the pipe-fish described above. One of these,* 
which I caught by throwing it a baited hook 
and drawing it towards me until I could reach it 

* Polybius Henslowii. 




HIND LEGS OF 



SWIMMING-CRABS. 237 

with my hand, I once carried home in my 
pocket to examine at my leisure. Next day I 
expected to have found it dead, but, on taking 
it out, I discovered that it was as active and 
lively as when I first caught it. This tenacity 
of life is essential to the habit it possesses of 
searching for its food, not only at sea but among 
the seaweed thrown upon shore. Being desirous 
of watching the movement of its swimming legs, 
while it was floating in its own element, I placed 
it in a glass of fresh-water ; upon which, without 
making the least struggle or moving a joint in 
its body, it sunk instantaneously to the bottom, 
quite dead. Thus, fresh-water may be more 
speedily fatal to a marine animal that spends the 
greater part of its life in salt-water, than immer- 
sion in water of either kind is to any animal 
living in the air. 

It is a singular coincidence, that many species 
of sea-weed, especially the Griffithsias, which will 
bear exposure to the air for a considerable time 
without undergoing any change, immediately that 
they are placed in fresh water discharge their 



238 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

colouring-matter with great rapidity, tinging the 
water in the course of a few seconds. One 
species in particular, Griffithsia secundiflora, which 
is remarkable for the large size of its cells, dis- 
charges nearly the whole of the red fluid which 
they contain with such force when it is thus 
treated, that it has been known to send a jet 
into the eye of the collector, causing considerable 
pain and annoyance. 

Sometimes the boat is suddenly surrounded by 
a shoal of mackerel or pilchards rising to the 
surface with a noise resembling that which ac- 
companies the throwing of a handful of gravel 
into a pond. On these occasions the mackerel 
rarely take the bait ; the pilchard is never caught 
with a hook, though it makes an excellent bait 
for other fish, and on this account its appearance 
is frequently followed by good luck to the fish- 
ermen. 

The fish usually caught by boats anchored 
within a mile or two of the shore are bream, 
chads or young bream, gurnards, pipers, pollack, 
whiting, pouting, flat-fish, dorees, with perhaps 



FISH CAUGHT ON THE COAST. 239 

two or three congers and skates, for which last 
a stout line is thrown over, furnished with a large 
bait, which is suffered to remain at the bottom. 
Gurnards and pipers are remarkable for making 
a peculiar grunting sound when taken out of the 
water, whence the latter derive their name, and 
indeed, perhaps the former by some fancied simi- 
larity between the sound and the name. The 
noise does not appear to be indicative of pain, 
but to result from the transmission of an unusual 
fluid through some narrow passage. It is pro- 
bable that the pain occasioned by the fasten- 
ing of the hook in the cartilaginous mouths of 
fishes is very slight, if any; for it is a very com- 
mon occurrence for a fish, which has swallowed 
a hook, immediately to catch at, and be hooked 
by, another, so that the fish comes to the surface 
with two hooks in its mouth at once. 

Gurnards, bream, and chads usually feed in 
company, and as they are very ravenous, are often 
caught in large numbers to the exclusion of al- 
most every other fish. The larger pollack swim 
about singly, keeping much nearer the surface 



240 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

of the water. They are fished for with a light 
line, which is suffered to float away with the tide. 
A good bait is a sand-launce or a piece of pilchard, 
but if chads are around the boat the only bait 
which escapes being carried off by those voracious 
little fish is a piece of one of themselves. 

The pollack-bait is not unfrequently attacked by 
cuttle-fish, which fasten on it with their long arms 
and greedily devour it with their parrot-like beaks. 
Their interference is detected by a repeated 
jerk at the line, followed by a steady pull. 
As they never swallow the hook, the fishermen 
make prize of them by drawing in the line very 
gently, until the bait, with the hungry monster 
attached, comes close to the boat, when a light 
stick, the end of which is armed with a stout 
hook, is passed under it and the animal is secured. 
It immediately discharges a jet of black fluid, 
which discolours the water for some feet round ; 
it may then be lifted into the boat, but still not 
without caution, as it frequently collects its 
strength for a fresh discharge, and I have seen 
it blacken the face of the person who caught it 



FISH CAUGHT ON THE COAST. 241 

as well as bespatter myself and another from head 
to foot, though we were sitting at some distance. 
The cuttle-fish is never eaten in Cornwall, but 
is much used as bait, particularly for congers, 
fish which, untempting as they look, here com- 
mand a readier sale than many others which else- 
where are considered delicacies. 

Pollack are often attracted round the boat by 
what the fishermen call " smear," that is, offal of 
fish and bilge-water, which they occasionally throw 
overboard. Sometimes the sport is entirely put 
a stop to by a swarm of dog-fishes. These raven- 
ous creatures attack the bait w r hether moving or 
at rest, in deep water or near the surface, and 
effectually drive away every other fish less power- 
ful than themselves. I one day fished in five 
or six different spots usually frequented by some 
one or other of the kinds named above ; but no 
— there were " dogs," as they are called, every- 
where, and in abundance, but nothing else. 

It matters not much to the crabbers what sorts 
of fish they catch, provided they have enough to 
supply all their crab-pots with fresh bait. Grabs 



242 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

are not, as they are sometimes supposed to be, 
the unscrupulous scavengers of the deep, revelling 
in decomposed animal substance, and preferring 
that which is most corrupt. On the contrary, 
they will condescend to touch no bait unless it 
be perfectly sweet and untainted. When bait is 
scarce the fishermen will sometimes use salted 
fish, ling, or cod, but it must be well cured, or 
no crab will come near it. This daintiness of the 
crab renders the life of the fishermen much more 
laborious than it would otherwise be, inasmuch 
as they are obliged, before they haul the crab- 
pots, to lay in a stock of fresh fish, which they 
must either catch the same morning, or, if caught 
over night, must thoroughly cleanse before it has 
acquired the least taint. 

It requires no little attention and trouble to 
furnish themselves before-hand with as much as 
they require, especially in the early part of the 
season when crabs are most numerous, and fish, 
for the most part, at a distance from land. They 
depend for this supply on line-fishing, the tram- 
mel net, and boulters or spillers. The trammel 



THE TRAMMEL NET. 243 

is a long and deep net with a double mesh, one 
large enough to allow the fish to pass through, 
the other much smaller. The net is sunk to the 
bottom of the sea by means of an anchor at each 
end and a row of leads along the lower edge, 
the upper edge being buoyed up by a series of 
corks, but without reaching the surface. It is 
laid in the evening and examined in the morning, 
when the fish are found entangled between the 
large and small meshes. One end of a stout 
rope is made fast to each anchor, the other end 
being attached to a string of large corks to mark 
the position of the net. The fish caught in 
this are generally dead before they are taken in, 
and are very frequently partially eaten by crabs, 
which often become entangled themselves, and 
are caught together with their prey. Spillers 
and boulters are long stout lines, to which are 
attached several hundred baited hooks, with an 
anchor and waste-line furnished with corks at 
the end. These are set at the bottom of the 
sea in the evening and examined next morning. 
The preparation, baiting, setting, and hauling of 



244 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

these are works of time and labour of themselves, 
but after all mere preliminaries to the principal 
occupation, crabbing, as it is popularly called. 

From this digression let us return to our boat, 
which we left at anchor off the Stags waiting till 
the fish beneath should be ready for their morn- 
ing meal. 

We remained here as long as the tide was 
favourable for our occupation, which was until 
the current became so strong that our leads would 
not touch the bottom. During this time we had 
caught about two dozen large bream, which, with 
what we had secured before, the boatmen considered 
to be enough to furnish all their crab-pots. Long 
before this, the motion of the boat had proved too 
much for my young friend, who, pale and wretch- 
ed, was lying against the side of the boat, with 
his head resting on the gunwale, and indifferent 
whether he pulled in fish or fish pulled him out. 
One of the fishermen endeavoured to comfort 
him by assuring him that the complaint was es- 
pecially beneficial to the health, and that he him- 
self, though he had been accustomed to a boat 



CRAB-FISHING 245 

all his life, never went to sea, after a day's cessa- 
tion, without suffering more or less. On the pre- 
ceding Monday, he said, he had not gone to sea, 
nor, of course, on the day before. The conse- 
quence was, that Tuesday was to him a day of 
utter misery. I did not, however, perceive that 
this piece of information had any effect in recon- 
ciling my companion to the tidings, " that there 
was no chance of his being landed in less than 
two or three hours." 

Having weighed anchor, we proceeded landward, 
the helmsman steering by well-remembered marks 
for the place where was laid his first string of 
eight pots, that being the usual number set to- 
gether. The construction of the crab-pot is too 
well known to require description ; what I par- 
ticularly noticed was, that the ropes by which 
the floating corks are attached to the pots were 
thickly invested with fine seaweed; in a fort- 
night, we were told, a new rope became thoroughly 
coated. The men, having taken out from the 
pots the crabs, spider-crabs, craw -fish, and lobsters 
which were caught, suffered them to creep into 



246 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




ORAB POTS. 



the locker of their boat; they then threw away 
what remained of stale bait and supplied the 
place with what we had just caught. The string 
was then conveyed to another spot and thrown 
overboard, so as to form as nearly as possible a 
line. This process was repeated as often as we 



LOBSTERS AND CRAW-FISH. 247 

reached a new string, occasionally varied by the 
hauling of a large pot baited with fragments of 
spider-crabs, in which were caught a few pout- 
ings, conger, and wrasse. 

During the spring months, I was told, crabs 
are more numerous than any other crustaceous 
animals ; as the season advances, lobsters are also 
caught in considerable numbers ; late in the sum- 
mer, crabs " leave off walking," and retire to 
holes in the rocks, and their place is supplied 
with craw-fish, which abound until the end of the 
season. Lobsters and craw-fish of a large size 
are occasionally caught with the lines, baited with 
fish, which are set for congers, &c. They do 
not, in this case, actually swallow the hook, but 
become entangled by their claws and horns in the 
line. These animals have a twofold power of 
motion, one by crawling with their legs, the 
other by repeatedly flapping their tails against the 
under-side of their bodies, and forcibly expelling 
the water ; the motion produced by this last 
operation is backward, but very rapid. Dr. Bor- 
lase relates the following marvellous anecdote of 



248 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

instinct displayed by a Cornish lobster : " As he 
was fishing one day, a fisherman observed a lob- 
ster to attempt an oyster several times, but as 
soon as the lobster approached, the oyster shut 
his shell : at length the lobster, having waited 
with great attention till the oyster opened again, 
made a shift to throw a stone between the gaping 
shells^ sprung upon its prey, and devoured it." 

When we reached Kynance Cove, there being 
little surf, we were enabled to land our invalid, 
and it was surprising to watch with what alacrity 
he sprang up the rocks as soon as the power of 
regulating his movements was transferred from the 
sea to himself. We soon lost sight of him, and 
again put out to sea. 

From Kynance we crept along close to the 
cliffs, passing the Rill, and stopping at intervals 
to secure the spoil, till we reached the Horse-pond, 
where lay the last string of pots set near the 
shore. The scenery all the way is exceedingly 
grand, and, as we advanced, varying as much at 
sea as on land. Familiarity with the scene had 
not dulled the appreciation of the beautiful, even 



THE " HORSE-POND." 249 

in the fishermen ; for they frequently directed 
my attention to the more remarkable points of 
view. 

Stretching off to sea about two miles, we 
reached the ground where the deep pots were set ; 
these were hauled, examined, and reset, like the 
first. While we were engaged on one of these 
strings, a merchant-vessel slowly bore down upon 
us, the helmsman of which, at the earnest request 
of our men, slightly altered his course to avoid 
passing over the pots, there being great liability 
that the corks might catch in the rudder, and 
thus that the pots themselves might be dragged 
along bodily and be lost. Occurrences of this 
kind are purely accidental, for the helmsman 
cannot be expected to keep a look-out for ob- 
jects so small as the corks which mark their 
position ; but the fisherman told me that in calm 
weather they suffer much from depredations on 
their capture committed by dishonest sailors, who 
frequently launch their boats, haul the pots, and 
appropriate the contents to their own use. The 
fishermen sometimes see the reward of their toil 



250 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

and enterprise thus carried away under their very 
eyes, and are obliged to submit ; for as they are 
ignorant of the name and destination of the ves- 
sels, they have no means of obtaining redress. 

After we had completed the proper business 
of the day, the men proposed, if I had no objec- 
tion, to board a large vessel, which lay becalmed 
about two leagues off, for the purpose of ex- 
changing some of their fish for bread. To this I 
readily consented, for, in the first place, being 
a visitor, I had no right to prevent their seeking 
the best market they could find for their goods, 
and secondly, I was most desirous of getting a 
thorough insight into their mode of life ; more- 
over, the boarding of foreign vessels had in it 
something of novelty and an air of adventure. 
Accordingly the boat's head was put about, and 
we rowed off in the direction of the Land's End. 

On our way we fell in with an enormous ling, 
which lay floating with its body partly out of the 
water. The men at first supposed that it was 
alive, and approached cautiously, prepared to 
capture it with a gaff, a large hook attached to 



BARTERING FISH FOR BEEF. 251 

a stout stick. It proved, however, to be dead, 
though quite fresh : it was infested by large num- 
bers of marine insects, which perhaps might have 
killed it. It was joyfully lifted on board, for, 
as it weighed upwards of forty pounds, it con- 
tained nearly enough bait for the next day's 
fishing. 

When we reached the vessel, the end of a rope 
was thrown to us, which we made fast, and so 
kept along-side while the bargain was being struck. 
She was an American bark, and had been out 
so long that her crew were on short allowance of 
bread. Salt-beef, however, was on board in great 
abundance. Three times, a bucket was let down 
full of this, and three times hauled up, filled 
with spider-crabs, the wary fishermen concealing 
their lobsters and best crabs, for which they had 
a sale at home, and producing those only which, 
though said to be of a superior flavour, have no 
value in the English market. I was at first in- 
clined to consider this manoeuvre somewhat dis- 
honourable ; but on second thoughts I could not 
see that any unfairness was committed. The 



252 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

crabs which my companions proposed to exchange 
were fresh and wholesome, though uninviting in 
appearance, and the Americans, having their eyes 
open, might accept the bargain or not, as they 
pleased. The transaction would have been a 
dishonest one if the article exposed had worn a 
fair exterior, but been unfit for food. True, the 
crabs and lobsters which the fishermen reserved 
in their locker, were superior, but they were not 
called on to sell them unless they liked, any more 
than the other party were required, against their 
will, to part with the more valuable commodity, 
bread. I was, consequently, on the whole, much 
amused at witnessing the barter. 

Having cast off the rope, we proceeded to 
board another bark, which lay about two leagues 
further to the west, the men being very desirous 
of procuring bread, which, at this particular pe- 
riod, as my readers can scarcely have forgotten, 
was scarce and dear. This distance, like the last, 
was performed by rowing ; so that as, in both cases, 
the crew of the boat had all the labour to perforin, 
they were scarcely unreasonable in expecting to 



PURSUIT OF ANOTHER VESSEL. 253 

make the best of the bargain. It was not a usual 
thing, they told me, to board vessels in this way, 
for when a breeze is stirring, the vessels move 
too rapidly to be overtaken. To-day the weather 
was so calm that the ships, with every stitch of 
canvas spread, did not move so quickly through 
the water as the heavy boat, impelled by a single 
pair of oars. Most frequently, by the time the 
fishermen have hauled all their crab-pots, they are 
glad enough to return home, weary, and soaked 
through with the sea beating into their boat. But 
wet from salt-water they do not at all heed, for 
they say that it never does them any harm. If, 
however, it comes to rain before they have accom- 
plished their work, they make all speed to regain 
the shore ; for, hardy as they are, if wetted with 
rain-water, they run a great risk of being laid up 
with colds and rheumatism. It is, then, only in 
the finest summer weather, when sea and air are 
both calm, that they reap any harvest in this way ; 
nor are they to blame if they honestly make the 
most of it. 

The next vessel turned out to be a Frenchman 



254 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

and as no one of her crew could speak English, 
and, as might be expected, no one of the fishermen 
knew a word of French, the scene which ensued 
was not a little amusing. 

The light-hearted Frenchmen were much di- 
verted at the quaint look of the spider-crabs, and 
vociferated most eagerly their desire to have some ; 
but what principally attracted them was the great 
ling which lay in the bottom of the boat. In 
vain the fishermen declared that they had found 
it dead, and that it was consequently unfit for 
use ; " le grand poisson" the large fish, was in 
every one's mouth. Still the fishermen persisted 
in holding up spider-crabs alone, and demanding 
bread. For a long while I sat still, too much 
amused at the good-humoured altercation to put 
an end to it by acting as interpreter. At length, 
to the great surprise of my simple-hearted boat's 
company, who I believe thenceforth thought me 
a prodigy of learning, I explained to the captain 
what we wanted. I now became a person of im- 
portance. The vessel, I found, was homeward- 
bound, and under short allowance of bread, so at 



AMUSING ALTERCATION. 255 

least said the captain, consequently he had none 
to spare. The fishermen then asked for brandy, 
a bottle of which was soon produced, and some 
crabs were handed up the side of the vessel to the 
crew, who took them one by one, holding them 
by the extremity of a claw with ludicrous cau- 
tion. As they were deposited on the deck, a 
knot of sailors gathered round them and examined 
them, laughing immoderately. I explained to the 
captain that the grand poisson was only fit for 
bait : but could perceive very clearly that he did 
not altogether believe me ; however, he ordered 
a tumbler of wine to be handed down to each of 
us, which my companions drank with wry faces, 
but which to me, who was beginning to be ex- 
hausted with the heat, was very grateful, on account 
of its lightness and acidity. He offered also to fill 
another bottle with wine, in exchange for some more 
crabs. While this bargain was being conducted, he 
happened to spy a craw-fish, which was only par- 
tially concealed by the crabs, and, with an earnest- 
ness worthy of abetter object, implored me to let 
him have it for his own dinner. But this the men 



256 A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 

refused parting with unless he paid a shilling for 
it. I then explained to him that the men could 
sell craw-fish at home for more money than the 
wine or brandy was worth to them, but that they 
were willing to sell him one for a shilling. In 
reply, he with great vehemence assured me that all 
the money he had on board was half a franc-piece 
(five-pence), which he produced. Upon this, 
thinking that I ought to make some return for 
my glass of wine, I promised the men that I 
would settle with them, and told the captain that 
I would make him a present of the difference 
between the sum which he offered and that which 
they asked. Nothing could now exceed his de- 
light ; he took off his hat to me, and gave me the 
most ample assurance that if ever I came to his 
country I should find that he was not ungrateful. 
Accordingly, the craw-fish was handed up and 
received most enthusiastically, and we, having 
first wished our excitable friends a prosperous 
termination to their voyage, parted company, and 
proceeded homeward. 

We had not long quitted the vessel when we 



BARNACLES. 257 

observed in the offing a flock of gulls, collected 
round what the fishermen conjectured to be a 
log of wood infested with barnacles. Many logs 
in this condition had recently been picked up 
at sea, or washed ashore, which, although they 
had been claimed by the Admiralty, were after- 
wards given up to the finders, as soon as it was 
reported that the timber was injured. Gate-posts, 
barn-doors, and such things, are, in the Lizard 
district, often made of timber recovered in this 
way ; they may sometimes also be seen com- 
pletely eaten out by the teredo. Our boat's com- 
pany were now, however, pretty well tired of 
their thirteen hours' hard-labour (for the sail had 
been of no use to us all the way) ; we therefore 
left the timber to its fate, and pursued our course 
till we arrived at the spot where the " store pot" 
was sunk. This name is given by the fishermen 
to a crab-pot of much larger dimensions than 
ordinary, which is kept in a sheltered place, at 
the bottom of the sea, and in which are stored 
up every evening the crabs and lobsters caught 
during the day. We were delayed a few minutes 

s 



258 



A WEEK AT THE LIZARD. 




BAENACLES. 



to perform this operation, the crabs being first 
prevented from injuring one another during their 
confinement, by the insertion of the point of a 



THE " STORE-POT." 259 

knife into the joint of the great claws, which se- 
parates the membrane connecting the two pieces, 
and renders the nippers powerless. A vessel calls 
off the fishing coves once a fortnight, when the 
store-pot is emptied and its contents transferred 
to a well in the hold of the vessel, where they 
remain alive for many days. This process of 
piercing the claw is perhaps not so cruel as it 
appears to be, for, from the fact that many of 
the crustaceous animals have the power of throw- 
ing off an injured limb, seemingly without suffer- 
ing any inconvenience, we may infer that the 
part in question is not very sensitive of pain. At 
seven o'clock we found ourselves safely on shore 
at Polpeer, the cove from which we had started 
in the morning. 



261 



APPENDIX. 

Geological Features of the Coast. — Granite. — Killas. — Green-stone, — 
Serpentine. — Mica-slate. — Diallage rock. — Botany of the district. — 
Loe Pool. — Gunwalloe. — MulMon. — Kynance. — Caerthillian. — 
Cadgwith. — Poltesco. — Kennach. 

In the hope that some few of my readers at 
least may one day have an opportunity of ex- 
ploring the beautiful line of coast which I have 
used my humble effort to describe in the pre- 
ceding pages, and that they may, in this case, 
take an interest in the geology and botany of 
the district, I have devoted the few pages that 
remain, to the special consideration of these sub- 
jects. I do not intend to do more than direct 
their attention to the objects of particular interest 
which are likely to fall in their way, referring 
them for detailed descriptions to works exclu- 
sively devoted to the sciences in question. 



APPENDIX. 

The high land west of Helston, comprising 
Tregonning and Godolphin Hills, is composed 
of granite, the felspar of which is in some places 
decomposed, and the soft stone is quarried and 
used in the manufacture of china. At Trewavas 
Head the granite dips to the sea, and a little 
to the east joins the clay-slate formation, popu- 
larly known by the name of killas. The face of 
the cliff is here well worthy of examination, the 
two rocks running into one another, and affording 
a singular contrast of colour, which is observable 
from the sea at some distance. The killas con- 
tinues eastward, occasionally traversed by veins 
of quartz and masses of trappean rock, nearly to 
Mullion. Here it assumes the character of Green- 
stone, a basaltic rock of fine granular structure 
composed of hornblende and felspar. It is very 
hard, strikes fire with steel, and emits a strong 
smell when struck by the hammer. 

Ascending the hill south of Mullion, we first 
fall in with the serpentine formation. This rock 
derives its name from the variety of the colours 
which it presents, and partly, perhaps, from its 



APPENDIX. 263 

scaly appearance, where a smooth slab is exposed 
to the air* It is considered by geologists to be of 
volcanic origin. The predominant colours of the 
serpentine of this district are dark green and 
reddish-brown; but the choicer varieties contain 
almost every colour that can be named. It is 
frequently studded with spangled crystals of 
diallage, a mineral of almost the same component 
parts as the serpentine itself, but easily distin- 
guished by its laminar structure, and metallic 
lustre varying from grey to bronze colour. 
Lodes of steatite, or soap-stone, and calcareous 
spar, are not uncommon in the serpentine, the 
former often of a considerable size and contain- 
ing ores of copper and strings of the native 
metal. Most of the caves on the coast appear 
to owe their origin to the wearing away of the 
softer mineral by the action of the air and water. 
The use of serpentine for the manufacture of 
works of art is becoming more general, and, in 
fact, for such purposes as making ornamental 
vases, small pillars, chimney-pieces, &c, no more 
beautiful material can well be imagined. It is 



264 APPENDIX. 

also exported for the manufacture of carbonate 
of magnesia and Epsom salts, magnesia entering 
largely into the composition of serpentine and 
most of the minerals which occur in it. 

As we draw near Pradanack Head we readily 
discover, from the piled appearance of the rocks, 
that we have quitted the serpentine and reached 
another bed of greenstone, like the first. It soon 
terminates, and serpentine reappears and reaches 
to Caerthillian, where a castellated pile of lichen- 
clad rocks assures us that the basaltic formation 
once more predominates. This mass stretches 
across to Pen Olver and the Hot Points, passing 
in certain places into hornblende slate, which, 
wherever it has undergone decomposition, is re- 
markable for its fertility. 

The Lizard Head and the rock to a limited 
extent on either side of it are composed of mica, 
or talcose, slate, there being some diversity of 
opinion among geologists to which class it should 
be referred. 

The trappean or basaltic rock, composed of 
hornblende and felspar, reappears near Polpeer, 



APPENDIX. 265 

and extends to the Lizard Cove, where we again 
encounter serpentine, some of the finest varieties 
of which occur at the Balk, and under Cadgwith 
signal-staff. 

Beyond the Blackhead, an immense bed of rock 
occurs, popularly known by the name of Crousa 
stone, from Crousa Downs, where it abounds. 

It is known to geologists by the name of dial- 
lage rock, from its containing large crystals of this 
mineral, intermixed with hornblende and felspar, 
the latter being frequently tinged with red. It is 
a very handsome stone, and if it were situated 
conveniently for shipping, would probably be used 
to a great extent. A small mass of it occurs half 
way between Kennack and the Blackhead. 

The strip of land which constitutes the County 
of Cornwall being very narrow and almost in- 
sulated, no part of it is very distant from the sea ; 
consequently, it may be said to be almost all sea- 
coast. The prevailing wind ranges from south- 
west to north-west, and having to traverse a wide 
extent of ocean, is so thoroughly charged with 
moisture before it reaches the Cornish shores, that 



266 APPENDIX. 

even in the most central tracts of the county the 
climate is damp. It is a well-known fact, that 
wind which has set across an extensive plain sur- 
face, either of land or water, exercises a per- 
nicious effect on vegetation, until it has been 
broken by passing through some resisting medium, 
such as a quickset hedge, or a belt of trees. 
Hence in the exposed parts of the county, that 
is to say, on both the coasts, forest-trees will 
not thrive unless artificially protected. Both the 
blighting effects of the wind, and the humid cha- 
racter of the atmosphere, are strongly evinced by 
the character of the vegetation in the district which 
we now have under consideration. On the high 
ground, either there are no trees, or if here and 
there a few have been carefully nursed behind a 
screening bank, as soon as they begin to raise 
their branches above their sheltering screen, the 
leaves on the windward side are scorched and 
shrivelled up almost before they have attained 
their full size ; the twigs on the leeward side alone 
mature their wood, and, as a matter of course, 
on this side only branches are developed; the 



APPENDIX. 267 

tree becomes irregular in shape to such a degree 
that the leading shoot, with a few straggling com- 
rades on either side of it, stretches out like the 
arm of a directing post, at right angles with the 
bole. All, indeed, do not yield to the blast in an 
equal degree, but it is very difficult to distinguish 
a tree by its spray without a very accurate exami- 
nation. On the other hand, the valleys .produce 
trees of respectable size ; but the leaves wither 
early in the season, and for the most part shrivel 
and turn brown without acquiring the true au- 
tumnal tint of the species, and the branches are 
quite bare some weeks before the trees in the 
midland counties have begun to discard their 
party-coloured liveries. Ferns, however, which 
delight in a moist atmosphere, here luxuriate; 
every valley and sheltered lane is filled with them, 
and surpassing as they are in grace and elegance, 
they quite atone for the deficiency of more ele- 
vated foliage. 

Between Penrose and the Loe Bar is an ancient 
Oak-w T ood, not containing the lofty spreading 
trees which the name would lead us to expect, 



268 APPENDIX. 

but one-sided straggling trees, rounded off on 
the windward side, as if trimmed by the forester's 
shears ; and on the other, stretching out their 
long crooked arms almost parallel with the sloping 
sides of the hill. Within these, and protected by 
them, the trees assume more of the true character 
of the Oak, but are entirely destitute of dome- 
like heads. The exterior surface of each may be 
not unaptly compared to a plate in the shell of a 
tortoise, so skilfully have they adapted themselves 
to the circumstances in which they are placed. 
Within the last twenty years, a great change has 
been effected in this locality by the judicious 
planting of screens, composed of such trees as have 
been found most capable of resisting the sea-air, 
and by introducing within them a variety of other 
timber trees, which in process of time will mate- 
rially improve the character of the woods. In one 
of these plantations is a Thorn-tree, which is well 
worthy of notice, as conveying at a single glance, 
all the information contained in the preceding re- 
marks. A few years since, it was an old weather- 
beaten stump, with a few ragged arms stretched 



APPENDIX. 269 

out horizontally, as if bending before a perpetual 
storm. Recently, a belt of hardier trees has been 
planted, and has grown up between it and the 
Loe Pool, and from its gnarled and seemingly life- 
less trunk, there have sprung up several stout and 
healthy shoots, covered with smooth bark, and 
producing foliage and blossom, that would vie with 
the fairest May -boughs in the land. 

Having premised these few general remarks on 
the effects of climate on vegetation, I shall be en- 
abled to give a more correct notion of the par- 
ticular productions by enumerating, and briefly 
describing, those plants which are most remark- 
able, either for rarity, beauty, or peculiarity of 
structure. 

The great characteristic feature in the botany 
of the district is the extreme abundance of the 
Cornish or Goonhilly Heath. It may be said to 
grow over the whole country from Mullion to 
the Blackhead, except where it has been extir- 
pated by the plough. Every hedge-bank and 
road-side is full of it, and if we enter the cot- 
tages, turf composed of it, mixed with smaller 



270 



APPENDIX. 



plants, is the only fuel. Near the verge of the cliffs, 
most of the plants are either 
different from those which we 
meet with inland, or their cha- 
racter is altered by exposure 
to an atmosphere charged with 
salt. Thus we find common 
groundsel and eye-bright with 
thick fleshy leaves and stems 
but little branched ; the ox-eye 
daisy and sheep's scabious, di- 
minished to the height of a 
few inches, and likewise fur- 
nished with fleshy leaves and 
stems. The rare and otherwise 
interesting plants are nume- 
rous. I will therefore men- 
tion them as they would fall 
in the way of the tourist ex- 
ploring the coast from the 
banks of the Loe eastward 
round the coast and proceeding 

inland whenever necessary. 




CORNISH HEATH. 



APPENDIX. 



271 



On the banks of the 
Loe Pool are to be found 
several plants more or 
less rare, which the bo- 
tanist will be glad to 
have the opportunity of 
examining in their fresh 
state, and of which he 
will probably bear away 
a few specimens for his 
herbarium. 

Lastrcea recurva, a 
very pretty fern, distin- 
guished by the crisped 
appearance presented by 
its leaves, grows by the 
road-side in a little wood 
half-way between Helston 
and Penrose, and in seve- 
ral other similar situa- 
tions. The crisped appearance alluded to is owing 
to the curling upwards of the extremities of the 
leaflets, a character peculiar to this fern. 




STUNTED OS-EYE DAISY. 



272 



APPENDIX. 




CCTSCUTA SFITHTMUM. 



The furze and heath 
in this neighbourhood 
are greatly infested by 
Cuscuta Epithymum, 
Lesser Dodder, a para- 
sitical plant, composed 
of innumerable red 
threads, which are 
firmly attached to the 
stems of the plant on 
which it grows, and 
almost conceal it from 
sight. It is destitute 
of leaves, but bears 
heads of beautiful 
wax-like flowers of a 
light pinkish hue. 

Corrigiola littoralis, 
Strap wort, is a very 
pretty little plant, 
with slender trailing 
branches from three to 
six inches in length, 



APPENDIX. 



273 




CORHIGIOLA L1TTORALIS, 



which grows among the shingle on various parts 
of the shore of the Loe Pool. It may be distin- 
guished by its narrow glaucous leaves, and nume- 
rous heads of minute white flowers ; it is remark- 
able for possessing the singular habit of shifting its 
habitat from one part of the shore to another, 
almost every year. Sometimes, for instance, it 
abounds in the slaty beach at Penrose, but scarce- 
ly a single specimen is to be found on the opposite 
side of the lake ; next year, perhaps, it grows in 

T 



274 APPENDIX. 

profusion on the eastern beaches, but has dis- 
appeared from its former station. It is rarely 
to be found in equal abundance on all parts of 
the shore. This wandering habit may thus be ac- 
counted for: — it is an annual, and always grows 
in situations which in winter are covered by the 
water. As the latter rises it buoys up the seeds on 
the surface, and they are driven by the wind in 
whatever direction it may be blowing, until they 
are thrown on the opposite shore. In the follow- 
ing season the plants abound on the side opposite 
to that from which the wind was blowing when 
the water rose. The Strap wort grows nowhere in 
Britain but here and in two places in Devonshire. 
Chenopodium polyspermism. Many-seeded Goose- 
foot, grows in similar situations with the Strap wort. 
It may be distinguished from the other species of 
the same genus by its ovate obtuse leaves, which are 
tinged and veined with red, its numerous clustered 
flowers, and its brown, shining, flattened seeds. 

Among the grassy turf, at the same places, 
grows Littorella lacustris, Plantain Shore-weed. 
This was formerly called the single-flowered Plan- 



APPENDIX. 



275 




LITTOREIXA LACUSTRIS. 



tain, which in habit it closely resembles. It is a 
small plant, bearing long and fleshy leaves, from 



276 APPENDIX. 

among which rises a single flower with four sta- 
mens, the most conspicuous part of the plant. It 
grows also in several places on the Lizard Downs, 
especially where water has stood during winter. 

Penrose Creek is filled with a coarse-looking 
plant, which, except during the flowering season, 
is anything but ornamental. This is Polygonum 
amphibium, Amphibious Persicaria ; it grows either 
in the water or on the muddy edge of the lake ; in 
the former situation, its leaves, which are oblong 
and rough-edged, float on the surface ; in the latter, 
the leaves are erect and somewhat shorter; each 
stem terminates in a spike^of rose-coloured flowers. 

In summer, the whole of the lake, except some 
of the very deepest parts, is filled to the surface 
with tangled weeds, which greatly interfere with 
the sport of the fisherman ; these are Potamogeton 
perfoliatus, and P. pusillus, Perfoliate, and Small, 
Pondweed. The former of these is a straggling 
branched stem, which in deep water is many yards 
long, and is furnished at intervals of a few inches 
with broad membranous leaves, clasping the stem 
with their bases. The extremity of the stem 



APPENDIX. 277 

bears a spike of dull green flowers, the only part 
of the plant which rises above the surface. So 
membranous are the leaves that they are almost 
transparent, and if placed when dry on the warm 
hand, will curl up like the thin shavings of horn, 
which are sold under the name of Chinese sensitive 
leaves. This peculiarity is attributable to the cellu- 
lar structure of its substance and the contraction 
of its membrane under the agency of heat. The 
lesser Pondweed is a tangled mass of slender stems 
and grass-like leaves, with flowers resembling those 
of the larger species, only much smaller. 

Pyrus torminalis, Wild Service-tree, grows among 
the brushwood near the Bar of sand, and also im- 
mediately over the old adit called Duff's-hole. In 
foliage it resembles the Maple, in flower the Moun- 
tain Ash, and frequently grows to a large tree ; 
here, however, it is only a few feet high. 

Euphorbia Portlandica^ Portland Spurge, grows 
in considerable abundance among the rocks im- 
mediately over the Bar ; though a small plant, it 
may be distinguished at some distance, by its 
bushy habit, and the red hue of its stems and 



278 




PYRUS TOEMINAUS 



lower leaves. Like the rest of the Spurges, it 
abounds in a milky juice, which, if not actually 
poisonous, is intensely acrid and unpleasant to 
the taste. It is one of the few plants said to 
be peculiar to the British isles. 

The turf on the verge of the cliff for many 



APPENDIX. 279 

miles of this coast is, in spring, studded with 
countless sky-blue star-like flowers of Scilla 
vernci) Vernal Squill, a lowly unpretending plant, 
which, though of delicate texture and elegant 
form, makes its home in the irfost exposed situa- 
tions. No British flower confers a greater grace 
on its haunts than this. Its only fault is, that it 
remains in blossom only during a few weeks in 
May and June ; before midsummer it has dis- 
appeared, its place being occupied by its three- 
celled seed-vessels, which are conspicuous even 
after they have been dried up and bleached by 
the sun, and have shed the black shining seeds 
which they contained. In the months of August 
and September, Scilla antumnalis, Autumnal 
Squill, a plant very like the vernal species, but 
much less beautiful, comes into flower here and 
there along the coast, but is nowhere, except at 
Cudden point, so abundant, as to form a distinct 
botanical feature. Its flowers are more py- 
ramidal in their mode of growth, and of a 
dingy hue. The leaves do not appear until the 
flowers have faded. Its bulbs are so tenacious 




SCI-LLA 7EENA. 



APPENDIX. 281 

of life, that I have frequently stored away speci- 
mens in flower, and, on examining them some 
weeks after, found the petals faded, but new 
leaves shooting out most vigorously. 

At the sandy base of the cliff which skirts 
the Loe Bar, occurs Convolvulus Soldanella, Sea 
Bindweed. It may readily be detected by its 
fleshy leaves, and large handsome flowers, which 
are scarcely elevated above the surface of the 
sand. The latter only expand in bright weather, 
and are of very short duration ; they are light 
pink, with darker stripes of the same colour, and 
are so delicate that they will scarcely bear being 
gathered without becoming ragged at the edges. 

Eryngium maritimum, Sea Holly, sends its long 
cylindrical roots deep into the sand of the Bar ; 
it has much of the character of a thistle, but in 
reality is one of the umbelliferous tribe. It is 
well marked by its stout prickly leaves, and 
purplish blue heads of flowers ; the whole plant 
is covered with a glaucous or bluish-white bloom, 
which identifies the plant, even if seen from a 
great distance. Its roots are made into a sweet- 



282 



APPENDIX. 




CON VOLVULUS SOLDANELLi. 



meat, which is well-known under the name of 
" candied Eryngo-root." 



APPENDIX. 



283 




EHIKGIUil MtRITIilTTil 



Polygonum maritimum, Sea-side Knot-grass, is 
a straggling wiry plant, with narrow fleshy leaves 



284 APPENDIX* 

and small pinkish flowers, which grow in their 
axils, and are succeeded each by a large, triangu- 
lar, polished seed, which is longer than the calyx. 
It grows quite prostrate on the sand. The last 
named three plants occur also at Gunwalloe, Ken- 
nack, and in most parts of the sandy coast. 

Ruppia maritima, Sea Ruppia, might at first 
sight be mistaken for a plant already mentioned, 
Potamogeton pusillus, from which it is best dis- 
tinguished by the spiral support of its flowers, and 
its stalked seeds. The flowers in their early stage 
are entirely submersed ; but as it is necessary to 
the welfare of the plant that they should expand 
in the air, their stalk is spirally elongated as they 
approach perfection, until the blossoms are raised 
above the surface of the water : after a time, the 
spiral contracts, the stalk is again submersed, and 
the seeds are ripened under water. This plant 
grows between the Bar and Carminowe Creek. As 
its name indicates, it is a salt-water plant, but is 
occasionally found, as in this case, in ponds and 
lakes into which the sea flows but rarely. 

Chenopodium botryodes, Many-spiked Goose- 



APPENDIX. 



285 




IA AIARITIMA, 



foot, has little to recommend it but its rarity ; 
it grows on the flat alluvial soil, at the head of 
Carminowe Creek, bearing toothed fleshy leaves, 
and numerous spikes of small green flowers. 



286 APPENDIX. 

The muddy bottom of the Loe Pool in Carmi- 
nowe Creek is in many places covered by a turf 
of Elatine hexandra. Water-wort, a minute succu- 
lent plant, with greenish flowers of three petals. 




ELATINE HESANDRA. 



It is principally worthy of notice for its rarity 
and the exquisite beauty of its seeds, which, seen 
under a microscope, appear polished and most 
elaborately ribbed and striated. When left grow- 
ing on the shore by the receding water, the whole 
plant assumes a deep red hue. 

Cornwall is remarkably rich in minute flower- 



APPENDIX. 



287 



ing plants which inhabit wet places, and most of 
which are either unknown or far from common in 
the more eastern counties. Sibthorpia Europcea, 
Cornish Money-wort, with its trailing thread-like 




SIBTEOHPIA ETJSO?£i. 



stems, beset with orbicular notched leaves and 
tiny flesh-coloured flowers, clothes the sides of 
every trickling rill ; and with it is usually asso- 
ciated Campanula hederacea, Ivy-leaved Bell- 



288 



APPENDIX. 



flower, a lovely little plant 
with a stem almost as fine 
as a hair, and so frail, that 
were it not for the assistance 
rendered by its stouter neigh- 
bours, it could scarcely raise 
its filmy blue-bell above an 
inch from the ground. 
Where these two grow, we 
may reckon with certainty 
on finding the commoner, 
but scarcely less beautiful, 
Anagattis tenella, Bog Pim- 
pernel, with its creeping 
wreaths of shining round 
leaves and rose-coloured 
flowers. A more lovely 
sisterhood of fairy flowers 
can scarcely be imagined. 
Pinguicula lusitanica, Pale 
Butterwort, is another mi- 
nute but elegant plant, with pale pink blossoms 
shaped somewhat like the violet, and supported 




PINGUICULA IUSITANICA 



APPENDIX. 



289 




singly on a slight perpendicular 
stalk about three inches high. 
The flower-stalks rise from a 
tuft of greenish white leaves sin- 
gularly veined, and greasy to the 
touch, whence it derives its name. 
Its roots are so small as scarcely 
to attach the plant to the spongy 
soil in which it delights to grow, cenicnculus minimus. 
Centunculus minimus, Small Chaff-weed, frequents 
the gravelly banks in the neighbourhood of 
marshes, and closely resembles a Pimpernel in 
habit ; it rarely exceeds an inch in height. Ra- 
diola millegrana, Flax-seed, grows in similar situ- 
ations, and attains an equal elevation ; it is much 
more slender and more minutely formed than the 
last, and, being repeatedly branched and thickly 
loaded with leaves and flowers, has the habit of a 
perfect shrub. The last two plants are figured 
of the natural size and the whole of the tiny 
group are to be found on the banks of the lake. 

In a little common above Carminowe Creek 
grows Gymnadenia conopsea, Sweet-scented Or- 

u 



290 



APPENDIX. 




RADIOLA MIIXEGRANA. 



chis, which betrays its identity by its fra- 
granee. It occurs also on Grade Downs near the 
Lizard. 

In Degibna Wood, Erica vagans, Cornish 
Heath, is abundant and flowers freely, though 
it does not here reach a size equal to that which 
it attains on the serpentine formation. It is 
botanically distinguished from the other British 
Heaths, by its anthers forming a ring outside the 
bell-shaped corolla. Erica ciliaris, Ciliated Heath, 



APPENDIX. 



291 



the most beautiful 
British species, con- 
fines itself to Corn- 
wall, like the last, 
but does not grow 
in the Lizard dis- 
trict. 

Still continuing 
our way round the 
coast, we pass the 
Halzaphron Cliffs, 
and, on the promon- 
tory beyond, fall 
in with Genista 
tinctoria, /3. pros- 
£rafo,Dyer's Green- 
weed, a low shrub- 
by plant with nu- 
merous clusters of 
bright yellow flow- 
ers. All parts of 
this plant furnish a 
good yellow dye. 




G-ENISTA TlNCTORIi.. 



292 APPENDIX. 

Genista Anglica, Needle Green-weed, grows 
on many parts of the Lizard and Goonhilly 
Downs. It is well marked by its inflated seed- 
vessels, and by having the lower part of its stems 
clothed with slender thorns. In the course of 
drying, its petals turn to a lurid green. 

Genista pilosa, Hairy Green-weed, a much 
rarer species than either of the above, grows at 
intervals along the cliffs. It is distinguished by 
its humbler mode of growth, knotted woody stems, 
and silky leaves, which are folded together. It 
blossoms in May, and, if the summer be not too 
dry, again in September. Genista tinctoria, the 
first mentioned species, is abundant on many parts 
of the Lizard coast, flowering from June to the 
end of August. 

On the same promontory, somewhat more 
inland, grows Ophioglossum vulgatum, Adder's- 
tongue, a remarkable fern, consisting of a single 
undivided egg-shaped leaf, from the base of which 
rises a tapering spike of fructification marked 
like the tail, rather than the tongue, of a snake. 
It is not easily detected, owing to its uniform 



APPENDIX. 293 

green hue, and its growing in a turf composed 
of plants of about the same size with itself. 

In the corn-fields about Gunwalloe grow several 
plants which, though not peculiar to the district, 
are sufficiently rare to merit notice. Briza minor, 
Small Quaking-grass, is one of the most elegant of 
the British grasses. The stem is about two feet 
high and bears a profusion of small triangular 
spikelets, each of which is placed at the extremity 
of a stalk so fine as to be barely visible, and dances 
to the music of the lightest breath of heaven. The 
specimen now before me contains about five hun- 
dred of these spikelets, each of which is about 
seven-flowered; so that the total number of 
flowers on one stalk is no less than three thousand, 
and there are often four or five such stems spring- 
ing from a single root. If gathered before the 
seeds are quite ripe, this beautiful grass retains 
its shape and silver-green hue for a long time, and 
if protected from dust forms an elegant addi- 
tion to bouquets of winter flowers. 

Linaria spuria, Round-leaved Toad-flax, is a 
small trailing plant with flowers shaped like those 



294 APPENDIX, 

of the Snap-dragon, but furnished with a sharp 
spur at the base ; their colour is very remarkable, 
the upper half being yellow, the lower bright 
purple. 

Lamium amplexicaule, Henbit-nettle, differs 
from the common red Dead-nettle in having its 
leaves irregularly cut, and its flowers clasped by 
the upper stalkless leaves. 

Ranunculus hirsutus, Pale Hairy Crowfoot, here 
begins to take the place of the more common 
species, R. bulbosus and R. acris. It is distin- 
guished by its spreading calyx and rough-mar- 
gined seed-vessels. It is abundant in waste places 
throughout the Lizard district, and occasionally 
produces double flowers. 

As we descend towards Gunwalloe Church, we 
find by the way-side Trifolium fragiferum, Straw- 
berry-headed Trefoil, so called from the resem- 
blance which its heads of pink inflated calyces 
bear to that fruit. In habit it approaches nearest 
to T. repens, Dutch Clover, growing luxuriantly. 
The latter plant is abundant here, as everywhere, 
but is remarkably early in expanding its flowers, 



APPENDIX. 



295 




riTHOSFERMUM OFFICINAXE 



which are generally in perfection a full month 
before it begins to bud in inland meadows. 

Lithospermum officinale, Grey Millet, is a leafy 




HYOSCYAMUS .NIGER. 



APPENDIX. 



297 



erect plant about two feet high, branched at the 
top and bearing small cream-coloured flowers, 
which are succeeded by comparatively large seeds 
of a bluish grey colour, hard, and so highly 
polished as to resemble marine shells. The un- 
usual hardness of the seed-case is to be attributed 
to the presence of a considerable quantity of flint, 
lime, and iron. 

In waste places near the sea, Hyoscyamus niger, 
Henbane, is a very picturesque plant, with its 
broad wavy leaves and stems furnished with rows 
of large vase-like seed-vessels. Its flowers are 
cream-coloured, intricately veined with deep 
purple; but the smell of the whole plant is 
intolerably disagreeable. The extract of the 
leaves is a valuable narcotic medicine. 

Verbascum nigrum, Dark Mullein, is another 
handsome plant, which grows in and about Gun- 
walloe Church-yard. From a tuft of large downy 
leaves, it sends up to the height of three or four 
feet a single stem bearing a vast number of bright 
yellow flowers with purple stamens. It occurs 
also, like the last, on other parts of the coast. 



298 



APPENDIX. 




STATICE SPATHULATA, AND S. ARMERIA. 



On the rocks adjoining Gunwalloe Church, 
grows Statice spathulata, Sea Lavender, a pretty 
plant, with glaucous leaves and branched spikes 



APPENDIX. 299 

of purplish blue flowers. After these have dis- 
appeared, the seeds tipped by the transparent 
membranous calyx long remain conspicuous, and 
retain their ornamental appearance for a con- 
siderable time after the flower-stalk has been 
gathered. 

The wet valley which runs up from Gunwalloe 
Cove contains a great many plants worthy of 
notice, and is particularly rich in Sedges; but 
these I must pass by, it being impossible to 
describe them without using technical terms. 

Ranunculus Lingua, Great Spear-wort, the 
largest plant in the genus, grows to the height 
of three or four feet ; its leaves are long, narrow, 
and sharp, and its handsome varnished yellow 
flowers are conspicuous from a considerable dis- 
tance. Lysimachia vulgaris, Great Yellow Loose- 
strife, grows with it, and attains an equal height. 
Its flowers are numerous, and assume a somewhat 
pyramidal mode of growth at the summit of the 
stem; in structure they approach closely to the 
Pimpernel. 

Menyanthes trifoliata well merits its fantastic 



300 APPENDIX. 

name of Buck-bean ; its rose-coloured flowers 
being tipped with red externally and beautifully 
fringed within with white filaments, it wears a 
very smart appearance. Its leaves closely resem- 
ble those of the Windsor Bean. Unfortunately, 
it loses most of its beauty in drying. 

Comarum palustre, Marsh Cinquefoil, will be 
at once distinguished by its large brownish purple 
flowers and serrated leaves, which, as the name 
indicates, grow with five leaflets on a stalk. 

I do not recollect that any plant of interest 
occurs between Gunwalloe and the cliffs south of 
Mullion. Here, however, we arrive at the ser- 
pentine formation, and fall in with several rari- 
ties. Erica vagans, Cornish Heath, is quite at 
home on this soil, and accompanies us for many 
miles, growing low and stunted when it en- 
counters the sea-breeze, but in sheltered situa- 
tions attaining a large size. Its flowers are either 
white, rose-coloured, or light purple. 

Herniaria glabra, variety subciliata, Fringed 
Rupture-wort, which occurs plentifully in the 
cracks of the rocks, is a plant peculiar to the 




COMAKULT PALU3TEE. 



302 



APPENDIX. 




ERTCA TETRAMX, S. C1XIARIS, E. VAGAN8, AND E. CINEREA. 

district. It has a tough stem, which spreads on 
the ground, small leaves like those of wild thyme, 



APPENDIX. 303 

and a profusion of small green flowers. It is 
remarkable only for its rarity. 

Arenaria verna, variety Gerardi, Vernal Sand- 
wort, is a small plant with numerous needle-like 
leaves, and star-like flowers of the most dazzling 
white. Though called vernal, its spring lasts 
from May till October, during all which time it 
is a conspicuous ornament to the cliffs. Spergula 
nodosa, Knotted Spurrey, frequently grows with 
it, and may be distinguished by its larger flowers, 
and by its smaller leaves, which are arranged 
around the stem in knots ; it has also five pistils 
instead of three. The vernal Sandwort of the 
Lizard is said by some botanists to be distinct 
from the northern plant which bears the same 
name. 

Allium Schcenoprasum, Chive Garlic, occurs at 
intervals, mostly where water has stood during 
the winter. Among the rocks under the Rill 
it attains a much larger size than on the open 
down. It may readily be distinguished by its 
large heads of rose-purple flowers which when 
seen from a distance are not unlike Sea-thrift. 




LAVATERA AP.BOREi. 



APPENDIX. 305 

The sense of smelling may here help us to ascer- 
tain its identity. 

Lavatera arborea, Tree Mallow, a large and 
picturesque plant, chooses to perch itself on the 
insulated rocks all along the coast, in which situa- 
tions it sends up its rigid, erect, stem, in defiance 
of wind and storm. It varies in height from two 
to six feet or more. 

Anthyllis vulneraria, variety Dillenii, Lady's-fin- 
gers, occurs in great quantities all along the coast. 
It differs from the ordinary form of the plant in 
being stunted in growth, and in having its flowers 
crimson, rose, flesh, cream-coloured or white. Dur- 
ing the flowering season it ornaments the cliffs 
with a beautiful tapestry of variegated blossoms. 

Bromus mollis, /?. velutinus, Soft Downy Brome- 
grass, grows in great abundance along most parts 
of the coast, especially between Gue Graze and 
the Lizard. It is remarkable for its slender downy 
stems bare of leaves except below, and its dense 
soft heads of large florets. It varies in height 
from two inches to two feet, according as it grows 
in exposed or sheltered situations. An incident 

x 




ANTHYIXIS VDINERARU. 



APPENDIX. 307 

connected with the first notice of this plant may 
encourage the young botanist to look out for 
novelties, even in places which have been explored 
over and over again. Many years ago, before I 
had commenced the study of the grasses, being 
deterred from undertaking it by their number and 
complex structure, I happened to be walking 
round this coast, and seeing the plant in question 
near the Soap-rock, I gathered a few specimens, 
with the intention of examining it, and finding out 
its name. After much time and labour had been 
expended, I succeeded in discovering to what genus 
it belonged, but was quite at a loss to decide its 
species. Several species approached very near, 
but the characters of no single one described 
appeared to me to accord exactly with those of 
my plant. I accordingly examined the plant as 
accurately as I could, and wrote a description, 
which I sent off by post, together with a dried 
specimen of the plant, to one of our first British 
botanists, whose address I happened to know. In 
a few days I heard, to my great satisfaction, that 
my plant was a new variety, never having been 



308 



APPENDIX. 



observed previously to my finding it at the Soap 

Rock. Though it was 
then new to botanists, 
I have since remarked 
it in great abundance 
both here and on other 
parts of the coast. 

In several of the 
valleys south-east of 
Grue Graze we meet 
with Campanula rotun- 
difolia, the Harebell, a 
plant common enough 
in many places, but 
very rare in the west 
of England. 

Asparagus officinalis, 
Common Asparagus, 
grows in great abund- 
ance in the clefts of 
the rocks under the 
Hill, on the island at Kynance to which it gives 
name, and in a ravine a few hundred yards 




HAREBELL. 



APPENDIX. 309 

north-east of Cadgwith Cove. It is in all re- 
spects like the Asparagus of our gardens, and at 
the last-mentioned place is treated as a culinary 
vegetable. Though always remarkable for its 
elegant mode of growth, in autumn it is particu- 
larly ornamental, owing to the contrast to the 
vegetation around it, afforded by its brilliant yel- 
low foliage and scarlet berries. 

Among the rocks on the western side of Ky- 
nance valley grows Hippochceris maculata, Spotted 
Cat's-ear. It is conspicuous in June, with its 
large deep yellow flowers, somewhat like those 
of the Dandelion. Each plant bears a few broad, 
prostrate, hairy leaves and rarely more than a 
single flower rising from the midst of them. 

Cladium Maris cus, Twig-rush, abound in the 
higher parts of the stream which runs through 
the same valley. It may well be distinguished 
by its long, sharp-edged, rigid leaves, and cane- 
like stems much branched above. 

All about this ravine grows, in great luxuriance, 
Geranium sanguineum, Blood-red Crane's-bill, a 
bushy herbaceous plant, familiar in gardens, with 



310 



APPENDIX. 



deeply-divided leaves, and flowers as large as 
half-a-crown. It is one of our most showy 
British plants. 

Exacum filiforme. Least Genti- 
anella, is a minute plant, with a 
branched wiry stem, and a few 
small yellow flowers which re- 
main open only as long as the 
sun shines. It grows in several 
parts of the down, where water 
has stagnated during winter. 

Spircea Filipendula, Common 
Dropwort, which the tourist is 
sure to observe in many places, 
may well be distinguished from 
S. Ulmaria, Meadow-sweet, by 
its deeply-cut leaves and rose- 
coloured flower-buds ; its flowers 
are also destitute of fragrance. 
Another singular plant, which is 
also abundant here, is Sanguisorba officinalis, 
Burnet, a tall plant with wiry stems and oblong 
heads of deep purple-brown flowers. 




EXA.CUM FILIFORMR. 




SANOUISORBA OFFICINALIS. 



312 APPENDIX. 

A sloping bank on the right hand side of Caer- 
thillian valley, about a hundred yards from the 
sea, produces, I should think, more botanical 
rarities than any other spot of equal dimensions 
in Great Britain. Here are crowded together, 
in so small a space that I actually covered with 
my hat growing specimens of all together, Lotus 
hispidus, Trifolium Bocconi, T. Molinerii, and T. 
strictum. The first of these is far from common : 
the others grow nowhere else in Great Britain; 
T. Bocconi and T. Molinerii were first observed 
about ten years ago ; the former may be distin- 
guished by its terminal heads of flowers, which 
always grow in pairs ; it occurs also on a hedge 
near Cadgwith, and on a rocky mound between 
that place and Poltesco. T, Molinerii occurs at 
intervals between this spot and Cadgwith flag- 
staff; it is easily detected by its large star-like 
heads of downy flowers, which, as the seeds begin 
to ripen, assume a remarkable whitish hue. T. 
strictum I had the good fortune to discover in 
July 1847, here and near the Old Lizard Head. 
It is strongly marked by its erect habit, long ser- 



APPENDIX. 



513 




rated leaflets, and globular rigid heads of flowers. 
It was previously known as a native of Jersey, but 
had not been noticed in Great Britain. 



314 APPENDIX. 

The fact that three species of Trefoil peculiar 
to the district, should have been discovered grow- 
ing together, has been thought so singular, that 
some botanists have entertained doubts whether 
they are really indigenous. I myself see no reason 
to doubt that their first introduction to the Lizard 
district was coeval with that of the rest of the 
vegetation on the cliffs. It should be remember- 
ed, that as the Lizard is the most southerly point 
in England and its climate uniformly mild, we 
have good grounds for expecting to find plants 
properly belonging to the warmer sea-coasts of 
Europe, and such is the case with these three 
Trefoils; they are all found on the coast of 
the Mediterranean. It frequently happens, that 
plants which have been introduced at first acci- 
dentally into a new country, have taken to the 
soil and become quite naturalized. Thus I have 
found near Plymouth several plants unknown to 
our Flora, but indigenous to the opposite coast of 
France. As these all grow in the vicinity of a 
spot where vessels frequently discharge their bal- 
last, it is natural to suppose that strange seeds 



APPENDIX. 315 

were thus introduced, and had established them- 
selves. Foreign plants are also sometimes found 
growing in arable land, having been imported 
along with foreign grain. At other times, they 
appear in situations to which they may have 
easily escaped from gardens. A new character 
of vegetation has, of late years, clothed some 
parts of the shore of the Mediterranean, the 
strange plants being identical with those which 
grow on the northern coast of Africa. The seeds 
of these, there is no doubt, have been brought 
over, entangled in the fleeces of African sheep, 
which are imported in large numbers. But, in 
the case of the Lizard plants, none of these 
causes is at all likely to have operated. The 
cliffs in the vicinity are very precipitous, and 
no ballast thrown overboard or washed from a 
wreck could be carried thither. It is true that 
smugglers formerly kept up a continual commu- 
nication with France and the Channel Islands, 
but it would be absurd to suppose that smugglers 
were in any way accessory to the introduction of 
such worthless weeds, as they would think them. 



316 APPENDIX. 

Nor can they have been brought over with foreign 
seeds, the small farmers in the neighbourhood 
caring little about improved varieties of agricul- 
tural plants. That they have not escaped from 
a garden is equally certain : for, no garden devoted 
to the cultivation of rare plants exists within many 
miles round. That they have only recently been 
observed by botanists, may well be accounted for 
by the reflection that visitors are rare and the coast 
very beautiful ; hence it happens that the grander 
features of the scenery form the principal attrac- 
tion ; and moreover as the cliffs are very weari- 
some to travel over, many parts have not been 
explored at all. Nor must the fact be lost sight 
of, that the serpentine formation is a very un- 
common one in England and may be favourable 
to the growth of the plants in question ; if this 
were not the case, we should perhaps find them 
in other situations. 

The Tamarisk-tree, Tamarix Gallica, grows 
very luxuriantly near Landewednack Church, and 
at Cadgwith, but is evidently not indigenous. 

Raphanus maritimus, Sea-Radish, is very abun- 



APPENDIX. 317 

dant on the cliffs from the Lizard to Kermack ; 
it may be distinguished by its jointed pods, and 
large, yellow, cruciform flowers, which are of a 
paler colour than most of the plants belonging 
to the same natural order. 

Among the rocks under the Hot Point, the 
beautiful fern, Asplenium lanceolatum, Lanceolate 
Spleenwort, attains a size much larger than I 
have ever seen it elsewhere. A. marinum, Sea 
Spleenwort, is common all along the coast ; its 
favourite haunts are caves, the roofs of which are 
beyond the reach of the sea-water. In Ravens' 
Hugo it grows most luxuriantly, and within reach 
of the collector. 

Near Kynance, on the Balk, near Cadgwith, 
and especially on the sandy cliffs at Kennack, we 
meet with a singular-looking plant, which in its 
young state resembles a shoot of Asparagus; 
when in perfection, it is a reddish-brown, scaly, 
viscid, stem, with ringent or gaping flowers of 
nearly the same colour, but entire] y destitute of 
leaves. On pulling it up we find that the stem 
terminates below in a solid scaly knob, with a 



318 APPENDIX. 

few rootlets. This is Orobanche rubra, Red Broom- 
rape, one of a genus of plants which are parasitic 
on the roots of various others, such as Broom, 
Furze, Clover, Ivy, Carrot, &c. This species is 
found only on basaltic and other rocks which 
appear to be volcanic in their origin. I am in- 
clined to. think that it is parasitic on the roots 
of wild Thyme, but am by no means certain. 
It grows also on basaltic rocks at the Giant's 
Causeway and at Staffa. 

Vicia lutea, Yellow Vetch, occurs on several 
parts of the cliff between the Balk and Cadgwith ; 
its habit is like that of the common Vetch, (Vicia 
sativa,) but its flowers are solitary and yellow. 

In an orchard at Poltesco grows a singular 
species of Garlic, which reaches the height of 
six feet ; but as it is found nowhere else in Eng- 
land, and here only in cultivated ground, it can 
scarcely claim to be considered a native. 

Gastridium lendigerum. Nit-grass, a very pretty 
silky grass, distinguished by the swoln base of 
its florets, especially when dried, also grows on 
waste ground about Poltesco ; and on the banks 



APPENDIX. 



319 




■RUSCUS ACUILEATUS 



near the sea we find in abundance Iris fceti- 
dissima, Roast-beef plant, with its sword-like 



320 APPENDIX. 

leaves, lead-coloured flowers, and scarlet seeds ; 
and Ruscus aculeatus, Butchers'-Broom, a low 
shrub with minute green flowers or large scarlet 
berries growing from the centre of its rigid, 
spinous, leaves. 

Kennack Cove abounds in most of the sand- 
plants already described ; a new species of Salvia, 
S. clandestina, is also said to grow here, but I 
have never observed it. Orobanche rubra is very 
abundant ; and among the heath and brambles 
on the eastern side, Thalictrum minus, Lesser 
Meadow-rue, is equally plentiful ; it may be de- 
tected by its elegant pendulous flowers, which are 
destitute of petals, but are nevertheless made con- 
spicuous by their numerous long filaments and 
large yellow anthers ; the leaves resemble in shape 
and colour those of the common garden-Rue. 

The vegetation of the Blackhead resembles 
that of the district already noticed, Cornish 
Heath forming the predominant feature. I am 
not aware that any plants grow here which have 
not already passed under consideration. 



APPENDIX. 321 

And now that our excursions are ended, before 
I take leave of my readers, let me entreat them to 
remember this : All the wondrous things in God's 
beautiful Creation are set before us, and are 
perpetually being renewed, that we may examine 
and admire them as evidences of His Power 
Wisdom, and Goodness. We have received from 
Him not simply a permission, but an express 
and often repeated command, to study them. 
And yet we must be most cautious that our reli- 
gious service neither begins nor ends here : for, 
loudly as the starry heavens testify His wisdom, 
the ocean His might, and every insect and flower 
His condescending goodness, we must discover 
yet plainer intimations of these attributes in His 
dealings with ourselves, or we shall have substi- 
tuted a mere formal perception of a Supreme In- 
telligence (such as even the heathen philosophers 
entertained) for the Spiritual Religion of Him 
who became man that He might ennoble our na- 
ture. That we can learn from Revelation alone ; 
and the evidence can only be discovered by 
examining our own hearts. If they be right 

Y 



322 APPENDIX. 

with God, we shall understand that He, who 
directs the stars, who sets the sea its bounds, 
and who clothes the lilies of the field, exercises 
a yet more powerful influence over us, not mere- 
ly forcing us to acknowledge that in Him we 
too live, and move, and have our being, but 
that He rules with a yet mightier Spirit the 
hearts of all who are conformed to the image 
of Him in whom dwelt all the fulness of the 
Father. If without Him the objects contained 
in the natural world would stand naked and 
alone, how much more are we dependent on 
Him who " worketh in us both to will and to 
do according to His good pleasure ! " 



FINIS. 



a 



Printed toy S. & J. Bentley, Wilson-, and Fdey, Bangor House Shoe Lane. 



H ?9 



